© 2022 Fairygodboss. All rights reserved.
How long do you wait to see your doctor?
The last two times I went to see my PCP, I was sick with bad asthma and she "squeezed" me in. Yes she is busy, but both times I waited an hour to see her. The second time, she sent me for an x-ray, which took about 15 minutes. I came back up to her office and waited about another 20 minutes in the waiting room before she came out to talk to me,. Then I got to the pharmacy and found out she forgot to send the medication she had prescribed for me.
I'd gone to see a new GI for the first time. She first sent in an NP who asked a bunch of questions and did an exam. Then she disappeared for a while and came back with the doctor who asked some of the same questions and did an exam. I had two very important issues to address, but I felt the GI was more focused on getting me to have a colonoscopy because I'm having some bleeding from hemorrhoids (which she saw), because my insurance company won't approve a certain medication for constipation. I left there feeling like she was more interested in getting this procedure done because it meant more money for her and the medical group. I felt very rushed by her and overwhelmed after the visit.
Donna Macdonald
Writing to a woman's heart...
223
03/08/19 at 4:47PM UTC
I worry all the time about the necessities of certain tests. No matter what your insurance plan is, a colonoscopy has certain hidden fees such as "room fees", etc. It will cost you. That being said, it is the gold standard for diagnostics. Your doctor should weigh the pros and con and the risk with you so that you can make a balanced decision. I reject doctors who push tests for the money. They should push tests for the wellbeing of the patient only. On the other hand, fear may keep a patient from having an informed discourse with a physician. Maybe a second opinion will help and that is your right. Blessings!
Crystal Rhinebergerprofessional rofl nevermind lets just wing it
2.29k
03/07/19 at 3:29PM UTC
I’m usually on death’s door and needing an antibiotic rofl
Anonymous
03/06/19 at 2:06PM UTC
Honestly I find that the answer has depended on what kind of doctor and whether I am paying out of network or not. To mitigate long waits, I always try to schedule my visit first thing in the day because otherwise I assume some patients and appointments go far longer than they should and everyone gets pushed back. I have this experience in my own line of work, which has nothing to do with medicine but by the end of the day I am sometimes running late for everything!
Anonymous
03/05/19 at 9:09PM UTC
Thanks everyone for chiming in with your experiences and your thoughts. I don't know if there's a solution right now. I did hear a couple of years ago about some people billing the doctor for every 15 or 30 minutes (or some increment of time) they were kept waiting, which equated to their salary at their place of work. I don't remember how it turned out, except some of the physicians got the point - but did it effect a permanent change in the way in which they treat their patients?
Anonymous
03/04/19 at 4:32PM UTC
I get super frustrated by this. I understand they are busy, but we also have jobs and schedules we need to take time from to visit them and an hour long visit really doesn't need to be 2-3. Before, when I have had appointments at say 9am but still haven't been seen by 9:30 and tell the receptionist at the desk I have to be out by 10 as I was promised a 9 am appointment and have to make it back to work for a meeting. That tends to actually have them see you soon after.
Anonymous
03/04/19 at 4:16PM UTC
Unfortunately I've had the same experiences as you. I feel like I generally wait 20-45 minutes every time I go to see a doctor. Sometimes I get excited when they bring me in right away, but then I end up waiting in the room for the doctor anyway. In my most recent visit to my PCP, I waited for half an hour and then she rushed through the appointment. I had questions I wanted to ask her by the end and she actually told me she didn't have time to hear them because there were other patients waiting for her!
Anonymous
03/04/19 at 5:39PM UTC
That is unacceptable! Not answering a reasonable number of questions is basically denying you care. I hate having to wait an hour for 3 minutes of a doctor's time. It's so disrespectful, not to mention expensive....
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