Me: 30 minutes past my appointment (after arriving 20 minutes early) watching people walk in then get called back within 3 minutes. Fuck doctors offices so much.
Update: Nurse took me to the room. Answered prelim questions then she left. Still waiting for the doctor 20 minutes later. It is now 40 minutes past my appointment time and no sign of the person taking my money.
Once they see you they’ll be there 12m and charge you for an hour.
Fuck our medical system.
Depends on who you are, what your health is like, and why you’re there. 5 complex medical conditions needing management? I might be reviewing 50 pages of notes, labs, imaging, etc before I see you. Then I gotta figure out an overall plan, how to execute that plan, what to do if that plan fails, write my note, etc etc etc. known patient for a quick f/u on one or two issues? That still might include chart review, specialist notes, labs, etc etc etc. you have the sniffles and you’re fine and just need a note? 5 minutes. All depends.
I spent days (weeks really, but a couple solid days right beforehand) prepping for an appointment that was crucial to my health and life in general. Not overstating that: the meeting determined for how much longer I have to live a half of a life due to this condition.
The doc misremembered a few things, made determinations based on that misunderstanding, and left mid sentence. I have now spent weeks trying to clear up what would have taken another 10m to do in person.
You sound like one of the good ones, so keep fighting the good fight.
But it’s still a shit system. The goals are simply misaligned from the top down. Money is the goal, not care.
And they’ll write on their notes they had a conversation with you about _____ because they uttered the correct incantation.