This question brought to you by Joe:
DOCTORS OFFICES !!!! The wait time at the doctor's office can drive a person mental! I swear they make you wait in the "corral" just so you can get every other person's sick germs so you'll have to come back. Some doctors' offices want you to come 15 minutes earlier than your appointment for paperwork. . . for what?!?! You're already going to wait at least a minimum of 15 minutes before your turn.
How long should a person have to wait for their appointment? How long have you ever waited? After being called, did you still have to wait EVEN longer before the doctor comes in? Have you ever left the doctors office without being seen due to the wait time? Where has your best "wait time" been? Where has your worst "wait time" been?
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
28 comments:
I actually stopped taking my kids to Chesapeake Pediatrics for this, and other reasons. Our typical visit was 2-2 and a half hours. How do you explain to a 10 month old baby that you're sorry you're stuck in a room with nothing but a stool with wheels on it? I switched them over to Alon Davis' office, which is where hubby and I go. I completely expect my visit to be no more than an hour from the time I get there, to the time I walk back out the door. If there is an occasional visit that takes longer, that's ok because I understand things happen. If its more visits than not that have me waiting forever, I'm not going to keep going there. While I wait there, hubby loses money staying home with the kids and not working.
Our family has been a patient of Alon Davis's office for many years-I would guess about 10. They very rarely keep you waiting and their staff is the tops! Always very friendly.
I am very please with the efficiency of Delmarva Iternal and Family Medicine in Salisbury. I have never to date had to wait more than 10 minutes beyond my appointment time. However whenever I have had tests done at PRMC I have never waited less than an hour beyond my appointment time. You have to raise a ruckus to get moving there.
Best time was Dr. Monica Ivanov? Family Dr. wait time in corral - 5 minutes, wait time in actual exam room - 5 minutes.
Worst time - Dupont Pediatrics in Seaford I swear you are in the corral for atleast...wait for it....1 hr & 20 minutes MINIMUM. Then you get in exam room and it takes 30 mintues of more for someone to come in. I cuss them every time I go there.
Health care on teh shore is a joke if you need anything done serious...Go accross the bridge. Do not let the Orthopedics doctor touch you, talk about not doing their jobs there, if you see a doctor your in and out. Most the time, you be okay suck it up and go get rehab. 6 months later, oh you broke it we need to send you to Hopkins.
Yep great health care on the shore.
There was a time when I waited in a doctor's office for 1 hour before I even saw him. When I finally got to see him, I explained to him that I own a business too and my time is just as precious as his. I let him know that I would be sending him an invoice for the hour wait at the cost of my time. At 95.00 per hour my appointment was always on time after that. My clients would never excuse me if they had to wait an hour for an appointment I made with them. So, I encourage everyone to send an invoice to your doctors if you have to wait any longer than 15 minutes. They may not pay, but they will get the message.
Be careful if you get upset with a local doctor and want to change. The average wait time in one office was at least 75 minutes and finally when my wife had an emergency they told her to come to the doctors office immediately. Once we got there she had to wait one hour to see the doctor on an emergency basis. That did it - we decided to change doctors. So what did the first doctor's office do - charge my wife $50 to transfer her medical records to another doctor in town. So be careful - they have you coming and going.
The problem is too many patients and not enough doctors. My doctor is the fabulous Amy Walsh; you have to get on a waiting list to become a patient because she refuses to compromise the excellent care she gives by scheduling more patients than she can give adequate time to. I have never had to wait in a "corral."
Now, Peninsula Orthopaedics is another story. While I think their physicians are excellent, they're pretty much the only game in town. I know that on the first visit I had with Dr. Kang, I waited over an hour and a half, but I was also something like the 60th patient he saw that day. These docs not only have to see more patients than they can give adequate time to, they also have to find time to do surgeries as well. (BTW, my surgeries were absolutely perfect.)
The problem isn't the doctors; it's the lack of a sufficient number of doctors for the area.
I had a 3:30 appt to see Dr. Sechler at Peninsula Surgical Group last week. I think it was nearly 5:00 before I saw him, and just after 5:30 when I finally left the office. I spent over two hours there and my actual "face time" with the doctor was about 5-10 minutes.
Dentists in general seem to be pretty good about managing their time and schedules. I've never had to wait very long in a dentist's office.
I agree about there not being enough doctors in Salisbury.
The problem is they schedule patients like hair dressers schedule their clients, 15 minutes apart, knowing they can not see a patient, diagnose and treat them within 15 minutes. It's a money racket. Then they play the guessing game with you, lets try this drug, or that one and we'll see how it goes. Screw that, I'm not paying them to be their guinea pig.
I too sent my physician an invoice for my time, many years ago. I never expected them to pay it, I just wanted to make a point. The point was well taken and I never waited hours on end again.
A solution to your medical records, take them with you, don't allow the doctors to keep YOUR records.
Just wait until Obama gets his way and the Doctor's office become another government bureaucracy.
It will be like a trip to the DMV.
its a buisness people, i worked for a couple doctors for a few years, both at their offices and their personal homes. they told me once that their insurance,(mal-practice) was $300,000.00 every year. thats befor they pay their employs,morgage/rent,electric bill,equipment expense,employ insurance,gas bills or themselves. these guys had just recently paid off their student ridiculous loans(after years). they said they had roughly 5 to 6 minutes to be face to face with each patient. i found that stagering. thats why the office nurses and personnel always know you better than the actual doctors do. 5 to 6 minutes, aint that ashame. i was also told that some of the patience insurance company payments(checks) wouldnt get to their bank account for up to two years later. its not all the doctors fault, corporate capitalistic insurance companies and corporate capitalistic lawyers
have put the doctors in a bad spot.i believe most would love to be able to spend time with their patience, but they cant, not if they still want to be in buisness and be able to support their families as well.
My Family Doctor is Dr. Danial Makas, DO, on Riverside Drive. I have never had to wait more than 5 minutes past my appointment time and I don't feel rushed when he comes into the exam room. My Orthopaedic Provider is Jack Bird PAC at Eastern Shore Orthopaedics on Pine Bluff Road and I have always been taken into the exam room on, or very shortly after my appointment time. Again, I did not feel rushed when face to face with the provider. The waiting time in the Exam room of both the physicians is minimal... maybe 5 minutes. The staff of both providers are absolutely great!!! Friendly, smiling, helpful and considerate.
I will not stay with a physician or provider who makes me wait and wait on a regular basis.
jph
How many of you are buying some of this BS on here? I have NEVER been to ANY Doctors Office where they see you on time, NEVER. That being said, my guess is some of these comments are either Doctors themselves and or their Staff. Come on now, let's see those comments.
Just took our son to Dr. Taylor's office this week. Waited over 45 minutes to be seen. Why tell us we have a 3pm appointment when we will not be seen by Doctor until 4pm? If these people had a reservation at a restaurant for 6pm and never got to their table to order until 7pm, they would bash the establishment and never go their again!!
Imagine what would happen if there were more Doctors out there with competition? The prices would go DOWN and their services would go up!
At Chesapeake Pediatrics you have to wait usually 30 minutes to an hour past your appointment. BUT If you are late getting there--I'm talking only 5 minutes--they make you reschedule your appointment!!!
I agree with the previous comment about Dr. Makas. What a wonderful place! Dr. Makas is very caring and personable. He takes his time with you and never rushes you. He makes sure you understand what is going on and what you should or should not do or should or should not take. His office is great! The Women's Health Center is another wonderful place. I have only waited maybe 5 minutes at the most! Very good service! Thanks Dr. Makas and Dr. Neto for caring for your patients the way they should be cared for!!!!
Glad to hear Chesapeake has shortened their wait time. Not being sarcastic AT ALL when I say that. Used to be, you'd wait about 45-an hour in the waiting room where there were sufficient toys to entertain the tots, then you'd be in the exam room for 20-30 more minutes.
Our very first appointment there, were were literally 5 minutes late. The receptionist told us that we had to make a new appointment because Dr. Taylor assumed we weren't going to be there and he'd left. They squeezed us in anyway because it was our son's very first appointment there and he was scheduled because he'd lost more weight than newborns typically do in their first days. I noticed on the walls that there were signs all over saying that they do their best to keep their appointments on time so they urged us to show up on time. The signs have since disappeared and as of a month ago, so have we. I love Dr. Taylor and his ability to care for the kids so well, but this, amongst other things, has just been it for us.
No, Joe you have it wrong. Doctors services are priced by what insurance companies allow for each visit, so the number of doctors in this area would make no difference in the time you wait to be seen on any given day. With Medicare and other insurance companies allowables going down, the wait time to be seen by a doc is going to get longer and longer as more docs in this area will eventually stop taking ins altogether as Drs Branton and Jarrah have done.
So far each time I hae to go to the doc I have to wait almost an hour followed by another 15 - 20 mins waiting for the doc to come into the room.
PRMC is a total joke! The last time I was there was due to a spinal cord injury. I laid in the ER for over 7 hours. In that time the closest thing I came to seeing to a doc was the ER doc. FINALLY I was told they were sending me to Hopkins since no one would come in on a weekend to take a look at me.
My next "wait" is in a week, I'll take a good book to read.
Okay, I'm going to have everyone on me when I say this--I moved to VA last year, and get this--I NEVER have waited more than 15 minutes beyond my appointment time. Most of the time, they see you when your appointment is. What a novel idea.
Here's the other thing, I only had to wait 3 weeks to get seen by a specialist, not 3 months. I'm telling you, it's a whole different world. I also can call my primary dr and get seen the same week, sometimes even the same day, and they don't book 5 people for the same time. Appointment times mean something. When I came home and went to the dr with my mother, I was spoiled, and had to wait 2 hours for her. It's NUTS
OMG hubby lacerated his arm horribly last summer and we were afraid that he may have gotten his nerves in the process. As we waited for hours in the ER, a physician's assistant told us that we were NOT going to be seeing a doctor, regardless of the fact that hubby was demanding that someone more qualified make sure that the damage was not as bad as it looked it might be. UNBELIEVABLE! We were in that ER for probably about 4 or 5 hours, the first 2 of which they never once offered hubby any numbing medication to help with the pain....no pills, no shots, no anything. I certainly hope their big pretty new wing makes things different because the way they've been so far is just horrendous.
That's just one of several ER stories. I'll climb down from my soap box for the time being.
SOME DOCS R BUSY HAVING AFFAIRS WIF THERE NURSES. THAT CAN GIT THEM BEHIND SCHEDULE.
I HEARD THIS BOUT MY KIDZ DR. WHO WAS SPOSED TO HAVE BETTER JUDGEMENT BUT GUESS NOT, WHAT A SHAME. hIS WIFEY IS EVEN PRETTIER THAN HIS GIRLFRIEND---AND A VERY NICE PERSON. sOME HAVE NO SHAME---AND WANT U TO THINK THEY R SO RIGHTOUS
Angela wrote:
OMG hubby lacerated his arm horribly last summer and we were afraid that he may have gotten his nerves in the process. As we waited for hours in the ER, a physician's assistant told us that we were NOT going to be seeing a doctor, regardless of the fact that hubby was demanding that someone more qualified make sure that the damage was not as bad as it looked it might be. UNBELIEVABLE! We were in that ER for probably about 4 or 5 hours, the first 2 of which they never once offered hubby any numbing medication to help with the pain....no pills, no shots, no anything. I certainly hope their big pretty new wing makes things different because the way they've been so far is just horrendous.
That's just one of several ER stories. I'll climb down from my soap box for the time being.
6:43 PM
<< Go to AGH if needing ER ...they are much better and faster and more nice. I hate PRMC but will give them this... have not been there since they expanded. Anyone been there lately? Are they faster?
AGH gurantees to be seen with in 1 hour. My daughter was only 5 minutes over 1 hour and we got in the mail afree 25.00 gift certificate to a local business.
And the E-R room is clean and kid friendly.
AGH for me!!
I am one of the providers at one of the doctor's offices mentioned in the blog. The nurses showed me the comments. What a crock! After reading your blog my next two patients of the morning are 38 min and 23 min late...therefore putting me and all the rest of my patients behind. You can thank your fellow patients for being late. Look in the mirror!
Everyone in my family from my 89 year old Grandfather to my 8 month old daughter sees Dr. Rider in Berlin. She is an absolute joy. I've never waited more then 10 minutes to see her. We are usually in and out in a half hours times. Unless multiple family members are being see and it may take longer, but she puts us all together in one big room and sees us all together. It's great! WE LOVE HER!
I have had to wait for Peninsula Orthopedics, but they are the best in this area. We're in Berlin so we try to get appointments at the Berlin office. They aren't as busy in that office and the waits are nowhere near what they can be in Salisbury. We LOVE Dr. Petrera. He has taken care of our whole family. Bad knees tend to plague us.
I recently switched doctors and at my first appointment with the new one,I arrived ten minutes early to fill out stuff.50 minutes after my appointment time,I had not been seen so I simply walked up to the recpetionist and told her very politely that I either had to be seen or reschedule because I had a specific time to pick up my child from daycare.After I prodded,I was seen pretty quickly.If its a habit,I will switch yet again-but I will give them a chance.
I work in a doctor's office and I do agree that one reason for long waits is doctor shortage in this area. And yes, their schedules may be overbooked, but it is not by greed, wanting more money. In our office, people are calling in having chest pain, elevated blood pressure, among many other things. Many times the problem can be evaluated in our office instead of sending them to the emergency room. The doctors do not want to turn anyone away, so they add them to the schedule. If you or a family member were having a problem that needed immediate attention, wouldn't you want an appointment rather quickly instead of being told that there is no way you could be seen? We are here to take care of people. I am sure there are doctors that abuse their schedules out of greed, but I don't believe most are like that. I can guarantee that most of the negative comments for this post are not by healthcare workers. Let's remember the positive things doctors do. :-)
SBYGIRL
Post a Comment