Waiting at the doctor's office...what do you do?
 

I have been waiting in the doctor's waiting room for 1/2 hour. This is an 8 AM appointment and involves techs, not the doc
. I always try for the first appointment of the day...I did go up and politely ask how much longer it would be as I have other things to do today. And I do. So how long do you wait before taking action. What do you do?

Not much you can do, you are at their mercy.

I just never go anywhere without some hand sewing, or a good book. Seems like nobody thinks OUR time matters anymore! I just look at it as bonus sewing time.

I just wait. My doctor is worth waiting for. She does not rush with her patients and that makes it all worth it by the time it's my turn to see her.

That drives me nuts too. But, unfortunately, Doctors aren't always on time. There may have been an emergency. I have had to switch Dr's for my son recently. His pediatrician doesn't start till 9:30 but mine starts at 8AM. School starts at 9:20. A no brainer for me there.

A 1/2 hour to 1 hour wait doesn't bother me. What bothers me is my mom's pulmonologist. Every time I take her it is at least 3 hour wait. One time we were there for 6 hours.

One time I had a late afternoon appointment. After calling the doctor's office to make sure they were not running late, I arrived and waited about 20 minutes. I went to the desk and asked the office clerk how much longer I needed to wait. She said she did not know but I was next. I told her a little white lie: "I'm just wondering because I have my leftover lunch in the car that I don't want to go bad. Should I take the food home and come back?" (she didn't have to know that my lunch was in an iced lunch bag) Next thing I know, I was quickly ushered into the lab room and in and out in 15 minutes. Not sure I would tell that little lie again, but it worked that time!

Years ago, we went to a doctor who historically had very long wait periods. Once a gentleman brought his lunch in a black metal lunchbox. He began preparation to eat and realized he had no can opener and the lunch he had brought was all in cans to be opened. Poor thing! A person could make longtime friendships in the waiting room.
To date, if my doctor makes me wait, I do not mind in the least...if she had not found my cancer years ago, I would not be able to wait in her office..

I found this topic interesting as I've noticed in the past 2-3 years a change in many doctor's offices where I live. Most of them now have signs advising the patient to tell the front desk if they have waited more than given number of minutes, usually 15-25. It's actually been a while since I've had to wait in a doctor's office, sometimes to the point that I have to laugh because I've just gotten started on some article I wanted to read and was called to the back.:D My family care/primary care doc calls me his favorite patient, even in front of his nurses. But if I had to wait over an hour each time I went in, I'd change docs in a heart beat.

I just wish our extremely busy (2nd busiest in the state) emergency department could get it together; it's been horrific for literally years. I once took my 88 year old father in at 10pm for chest pains -CHEST PAINS, mind you! - and we sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes BEFORE he was even triaged. And that happened only because I made a little scene about it. Thank God he was having stomach/reflux issues not heart, but WE didn't know that and neither did they at first.

When I torn my achilles tendon from my heel last week, I went to our adorable little county hospital where they treat you like family -- love that place :D -- and they were so dear to me and my mother at 2am. Exam, xrays, labs, warm blankets, in/out in 2 hours.

Jan in VA