Has anyone had a doctor's appointment that has started on time? Is their tardiness based on some urgency vs. importance framework?
2006-11-01 06:28:32 · 6 answers · asked by cableguy 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
when it comes to health i'd argue there is going to be a very strong correlation between urgency and importance so don't think that's the problem, i.e. what's urgent is also going to be extremely important.
my guess is that the consistent disregard for appt schedules eminates from two things:
the human body, it's state of health, and the process of accurate diagnosis are not factory parts that fit onto an easily predicted assembly line of patient care. while on avg there may be a standard amount of time required to fix "standard" health problems (and thus fit the model of a predictable appt time), all it would take is for one patient visit to go over time due to some unforseen problem or complexity for it to send the entire day's schedule into disarray.
as a result of this lack of predictability, i also think certain doctors place less of a priority on staying on schedule, and as they treat the scheudle with less importance, they may allow other, non patient caused delays to get in the way as well.
all just my opinion.
2006-11-01 07:03:52 · answer #1 · answered by jeff 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately, many doctors have to see more and more patients in less and less time. All it takes is one patient requiring extra time, and the whole schedule is thrown off. Sometimes they overbook, when patients insist on being seen TODAY.
It's a pain, but that is the state of medicine today. Doctors have to pay rent, nurses' salaries, billing companies, etc. and therefore have to fill the day.
And then, some patients have the unmitigated gall to bleed, go into labor, have a heart attack, or some other unplanned misfortune, and then want their doctor to attend to them despite a full waiting room.
Surgeons are notoriously bad at time management (" I can get that case done in half an hour" often means two hours or more) and their patients are even WORSE at doing annoying things that require intervention.
2006-11-01 15:08:27 · answer #2 · answered by Pangolin 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Physicians notoriously have poor time management skills.
They do get overbooked and of course this causes them to run behind.
Calls and other unforseen circumstances do arise creating even more of a backlog of patients.
Occasionally nurses do not have the patients ready (lab reports, charts etc).
Mostly, in my experience it is simply an inefficient doctor.
And, NO I rarely have an appointment that starts on time.
2006-11-01 18:54:43 · answer #3 · answered by Denece E 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My former doctor never overbooked and was always on time.
My new one, unless you have the first one in the morning you can spend hours in the waiting room. She doesn't over book but takes lots of time with the patients, she's known to cut the older peoples toenails etc. My specialist, the most I waited is 15 min.
But most doctors over book and that's the most common reason.
2006-11-01 15:27:56 · answer #4 · answered by Mightymo 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I always make my appointments for the 1st one in the morning... that way the doctor is never late, and sometimes even a little early.
I think you are finding that they are late because the allotted 15 minutes may run over, and if each one runs over just a few minutes, it eventually trickles down to you.. who is sitting patiently in the waiting room.
2006-11-01 14:32:31 · answer #5 · answered by oh_what_a_wabbit 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Always make sure that you get the earliest available appointment. At least your doctor will be only half pissed.
2006-11-01 15:00:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋