ARRRRRGH

[Fred]

Our family doctor closed her practice about 5 years ago and I have to admit we have been lacking in getting a new GP. We usually go to the outpatient clinic which is really good but we should have a family doctor. I haven't been feeling well for quite a while so when Courtney cut her leg we asked and were given a list of doctors taking on new clients. Made an appointment [had to wait 5 weeks to get one] and ended up being a bit late this morning for it due to weather. OK, so I know they are on a schedule so they want to reschedule FOR NEXT *^$%%$*& MONTH! C'mon this is ridiculous, especially when they were going to let me have an appt next week, but no they can't do that because I am a new client. Guess you have to be really "sick" to get an appt! I truly think this is because we are self pay and not insured which I think is discrimination. Truth to tell though if that is how they handle clients I dont think I would be happy with this practice!

 

[Jill]

That is ridiculous!!!!

In my area, we're pretty lucky and seem to have a good number of doctors -- who know they're not the only option and give good service. Being that I see my doctor every month, I'm happy he is easy to see and get along with as I do NOT have the patience that I used to...

Sorry you're having to deal with this frustration

 

[Fred]

To give you an idea how ridiculous this was I called another dr and made an appt for NEXT WEEK! Guess that other group is really off the wall.

 

[Jill]

On the bright side, at least you found out how frustrating that group is NOW and won't have to deal with them again. In the past, I have gotten up and left doctor's waiting rooms if they left me waiting too long. They're not the only ones who work by appointment and have important things to do

 

[alongman]

Go in! If you go to the office, they aren't going to turn you away. It looks bad for their business to have someone sitting there coughing and gagging in the waiting room.

 

[Fred]

Actually Adam they did turn me away. I was told they couldn't see me today. I waited 5 weeks for this appt as my problems aren't life threatening I agreed to wait. I am going to notify the hospital though that reccomended them that if they are accepting new patients 5 weeks is a long time to see a doctor and its extremely rude to not at least try to accomadate a new client. My husband was furious as was I at this treatment. The thing that really ticks me off though is they have our medical records as that is where they were sent when our doctor closed her practice. They are just going to have to send them to the doctor I will be seeing next week.

 

[iluvwalkers]

If someone is late for an appt. with me they have to make a new appt. I don't think it is fair to my other clients to make them wait, it's not that I am being "rude"' to the late person but rather not being "rude" to the people that weren't late and have appts. their time is worth as much as mine. Also I prefer cash clients over insurance, you have to take what the insurance pays which is most of the time less then what a cash client is charged. Sounds like they are really busy so I'm sure they won't mind forwarding your records

, good luck at the new Dr's, Nikki

 

[The Simple Life Farm]

I work at a Dr's office. This is a catch 22... If we have a patient (new or old) that arrives more than 30 minutes late, we reschedule, especially if they did not call in advance. We make a notation each time a patient shows up late. Just last week, I noticed a patient has been late for every single appt, we made them reschedule. In my office, if we are running late, we let the patients know when they check-in. Most of the time when we are late, it is usually because patients are late, or we have had an emergency. If we take a late patient, it can sometimes cause us to be late with the rest of the patients, and thats not fair to them.

But, if they had to reschedule you, they should have not made you wait for another 5 weeks. We will reschedule them for the next week. Life happens, doctors offices need to be accommadating. But also not to set a presidence that allows patients to always be late, or not show for their appts at all.

Glad to hear you got an appt with another doctor. I would call tomorrow, and get your records sent ASAP. You might want to go and pick them up yourself. They may not be too willing to send since you're seeing another doctor. We have had to waits months to get records. Just an FYI. Good Luck!!!

 

[Fred]

Actually I wasn't that late and I would have called but my cell phone died as I was telling my husband to watch out for the black ice on the road. Thats how slick it was! I can understand rescheduling but not that amount of time especially when they were going to give me a new appt with someone different but couldn't because I was a "new" client! They didn't even offer to call if they had a cancellation! By the way had they checked with a couple of the older drs with that group they would find out I have not ever been late for a drs appt as they used to cover for my old dr.

 

[Suzie]

I think 5 weeks is too long, but as a new pt, your appt time will have to be a longer appt I am sure. I have done this for 30+ years and when we had bad weather, follow ups were not hard to work in (15 min appts). However, new pt was 1 hour 30 minutes (to allow for exam, questions, extensive history and plan for treatment). Finding a 1 1/2 hour slot to put someone in was no picnic. But you did not want to squeeze a pt into a 15 minute slot and then not give the doctor time to do his exam and also you would be cheating the patient (who had already waited 5 weeks to get in the door and then slammed back out in 15 minutes!) If the doctor extended his 1 1/2 hour new pt exam into this 15 min slot, then think how many other pts would be pushed back and back and maybe not even seen that day.

Medicine is a business, pure and simple. Doctors nowdays have to see up to 60 people a day to make a profit. Being self pay should not have been a factor. In our offices, we charged the same for self pay that we billed insurance for and insurance always reimbursed less than self pay people paid. Most insurance companies these days do not pay 100% of billed charges.

People who juggle doctor's schedules are sometimes miracle workers. I have rearranged doctor's schedules-often taking their lunch time and staff lunch time away completely, in order to get a really sick pt in to be seen. It is called triage and it is hard to get it right sometimes. I try my best to get to my appts on time (or ahead of time). If weather is bad, it is a nightmare because sometimes you are rescheduling up to 50 pts.

Glad you have another appt with a new doctor and hope he can help you with your problem. Good luck!