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Dr.'s appt: How long should one wait before being seen? — Brooklynian

Dr.'s appt: How long should one wait before being seen?

danielle123
danielle123
edited November -1 in The Lounge / Random Stuff

Subject: Dr.'s appt: How long should one wait before being seen?

I waited 2 hours today past my appointment time and finally left. It was the final checkup for a fractured hand. They took an x-ray. I asked the assistant if she could ask the doctor to call me once he viewed the x-ray. He did not call me. (I don't know if he is allowed to give a medical opinion over the phone from just an x-ray but he could have called me to apologize for making me wait.)

How long would you wait? I've had to wait increasingly longer times each time I've gone to him (although, he is a very nice guy and seems to know what he is doing).

Does he have the right to charge my insurance company for either the appointment and/or the x-ray (resulting in my possibly getting a bill for what my insurance co. doesn't cover)?

Thanks.

Comments

  • raw
    raw
    How long have you been going to this doctor?

    Were you late to your appointment? If so, is it possible they took someone else before you?

    If this is a new doctor for you and you did everything right, where on time, I would not have waited more than 30 minutes and I would not have paid for the appointment regardless of the doctor's cancellation policy.
  • danielle123
    danielle123
    I was on time and after 2 hours still had 1 or 2 people before me. For 2 hours they sent me to reception, then to x-ray, then back to reception, then to the other reception, then to billing, then back to other reception. I even argued on the phone with my insurance company for 15 minutes and when I came back they STILL weren't ready to see me (and no they hadn't skipped my place in line).

    I'm wondering if there is some industry standard about how long a patient has to wait. I don't want to get charged for this and don't believe I should.

    Thanks, Raw.
  • carmen
    carmen
    danielle123 wrote: I was on time and after 2 hours still had 1 or 2 people before me. For 2 hours they sent me to reception, then to x-ray, then back to reception, then to the other reception, then to billing, then back to other reception. I even argued on the phone with my insurance company for 15 minutes and when I came back they STILL weren't ready to see me (and no they hadn't skipped my place in line).

    I'm wondering if there is some industry standard about how long a patient has to wait. I don't want to get charged for this and don't believe I should.

    Thanks, Raw.

    I've waited 2.5 hours for an appt at a doctor before, but I didn't go back (I only waited because it took me 3 months to get the appt in the first place.) I agree though that its really pathetic that you have to count on waiting at least 30 minutes for most appointments. I had a doctors appointment in the city about 6 months ago and waited over an hour after being 15 minutes early. I'm usually seen QUICKER at urgent care places than I am when I actually have an appointment.


    Maybe I'm a sucker, I usually just block off an entire day for a doctor appointment.
    I would agree that you should fight any additional charges though. You shouldnt have to pay for that.
  • sweet tea
    sweet tea
    doctors' kid opinion here:

    waiting to see the dr forever sucks eggs and is very often part of the deal. one reason it is part of the deal is (in some cases, anyway -- like my dad's) because of how hospitals and insurance companies pay doctors.

    my dad sees patients who are mostly babies with very rare and complicated diseases. (and guess what: their parents are confused, upset, etc.) i'm not sure about the place where he works now, but the place he was before expected him to see a patient every 10 minutes on clinic day. obviously, that's impossible. so he sees the patients for as long as he needs to see them to do a good job, which means he's off-schedule immediately and stays at the hospital until 10pm or so every clinic day. i'm sure his patients hate waiting so long, but it's not really his fault.

    best tip i know to avoid waits is to always make your appt as early in the day as possible. i've never seen an office that didn't get at least 30 minutes off-schedule by noon, and that's assuming no really difficult patients.
  • antigone
    antigone
    I will wait for an hour, tops. I know that sometimes emergencies are unavoidable, but it seems to me that many doctors overbook to make more money. I have walked out of doctors' offices when the wait exceeded an hour - granted, these appointments were for check-ups and not due to a dire disease in which case I suppose I would have waited. Why is their time worth more than mine? If I can't get a doctor or dentist appointment to conform to a long-ish lunch hour, I won't be back. My dentist group is awesome - they are occasionally delayed but usually see me within 15 minutes of my appointment. I've also found LICH to be very good - when I went there for a mammogram last year, I was expecting a long wait but they saw me more or less immediately.
  • meredithb
    meredithb
    It's not when your appt is, it's when you arrive. Case in point - I had a Drs apt on tuesday at 5:45. I arrived at 5:10 and signed in knowing I would have to wait. At 5:15 some guy comes in and announces, "I'm Joe Schmoe and I have a 5:15 appt!" That didn't matter. At 5:20 they called me in. When I was done ten minutes later the guy was still in the waiting room.

    So get there early, bring a book and enjoy.
  • MOD
    MOD
    I wouldn't wait more than an hour. Tops. That's just crazy.
  • opossumqueen
    opossumqueen
    That's a poorly run office if it's something like an orthopedist. I might be annoyed but not totally shocked to have a long wait with a doc that has emergency cases (like an OB/GYN who needs to deliver a baby) or a specialist in rare condition as the above poster talked about, but for your regular doc or dentist, I had long waits at clinics that seem poorly run.

    My dentist's office (Rozencrantz) has been excellent in the respect and I've had many appointments lately relating to one problem. I try to get there a few minutes before my appointment and I always get in and work started very close to my appointment time (I think maybe 12 minutes over by their clock was the worst).

    I've been to several GP's and orthopedists in the last year or two and most have been good. I do not expect to wait half an hour--that's absurd in my book, if I get there 5-10 minutes early. A well run office will have a general idea of how long appointments take and can generally keep somewhat close to schedule. Maybe I'm getting lucky and picking good doc's (I've been reading lots of reviews before going), but I think waiting two hours is beyond unreasonable for the type of doc it seems to have been. I would find a new one.

    It's a bit of a trek, but I was really happy with this sports medicine doc I saw at the NY Joint Hospital (is that the name?) in Manhattan. I saw:
    Cardone, Dennis A, DO
    530 1ST AVE STE 8U
    NEW YORK, NY 10016
    212.263.2192

    I'm now seeing a orthopedist on the UES, out of time/location constraints when I needed a doc before leaving town. After my next appointment, I'll let you know if I recommend him.
  • danielle123
    danielle123
    Thanks, everyone. There seems to be agreement with me that 2 hours is way too long. My appointment was at 10am, btw, so it's amazing he was that backed up that early in the morning. I'm just not sure if he's going to put into my insurance company for payment. Plus, they did take an x-ray so I will probably be charged for that even though I didn't get any diagnosis from it.

    Opossum, since this was my last check-up on my hand with this doctor, I'm not sure I can switch doctors at this point but thanks for the referral, for future reference. Let me know about the one on the UES as that area is easier for me to get to, as well.
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