Sometimes words and phrases mean different things to different people. I would like to share with you a story. The catch phrase is “Please get undressed…”
Often when I go to my doctor for a physical this is the chain of events:
- I sign in at the reception desk
- I sit in the waiting room flipping through magazines that are 4 months old for a short time before my name is called
- I walk to the back office where the nurse checks my weight – yes I want to take off all my clothes and certainly my shoes but since I am in the hallway I refrain from doing that
- Still on time and on a great schedule…
- The nurse takes me into a cold room asks me a few questions and takes my blood pressure
- THEN…she says “Please get undressed. The doctor will be right with you.”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
- TO ME — the doctor will be with me in 90 seconds.
- TO THE NURSE — I have no idea since she is probably laughing as she leaves the room.
- TO THE DOCTOR — I will come in when I am done seeing my other patients.
So why does it take so LONG?
- Do they really think it takes patients 30 minutes to get undressed?
- Is his/her time more important than mine?
- Are they scheduling too many appointments and always running late?
- Are they too disorganized and this is always the way it is?
- Do they care about customer service?
Since I don’t understand it, this is what I do. I give the Doctor a 10 minute grace period, and then I start making phone calls. It doesn’t matter who it is or what I am discussing with them.
Oh by the way if there is a phone in the room I am waiting in somewhat patiently and very cold, I use their phone. Yes, I actually pick up their phone and use it, and more than likely I try and make it a long distance call. Regardless if it is their phone or my cell phone I will make sure that I am on the phone when they arrive in the room and actually ask them to come in and wait a minute until I am done with the call.
Yes they are flabbergasted, but I think they get the point. Or do they?
- How do you feel when it happens to you?
- What do you do?
I look forward to your comments.
Paul Kirch says:
I love the idea of using their phone. That I haven’t done. I do use my cell phone as much as possible, even though I’m normally staring at a sign that says no cell phones. Speaking of waiting for doctors, I was having some blood work done along with some other routine work and the nurse told me to put on a medical gown and that the doctor would be right in to see me. I had never experienced this before, but I went through the process of trying to figure out how to put that drafty miserable thing on. After sitting there cold and uncomfortable for about 25 minutes, the doctor comes in and says, “why are you wearing that?” I explained that I was told to. He spent all of 5 minutes with me and when he left, I swear he started to laugh. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really get too mad since it was quite comical.
Jocelyn Smith says:
This used to ALWAYS happen to me, and since I am usually trying to squeeze the appointment in during my lunch hour, it infuriated me to have to wait! I do think my doctor schedules more than one appointment per time slot, so to limit my wait time, I show up 20 minutes late and I am shuffled right in!
Janet Savoie says:
My former doctor’s office had the rude habit of not calling patients or telling them when they came in that the doctor had been called away to deliver a baby and was not there. So one day I came to the office assuming he was there and waited patiently then impatiently. I finally asked at the desk when I would get in to see him (because I was on my lunch hour) and THEN they told me he wasn’t there and they weren’t sure when he’d be back. This blatant disregard for my time so infuriated me I switched. Unfortunately, I recently experienced it again with my internist who had a flat tire on his way in. Now I can forgive the flat tire, but I have a hard time with the check in desk not telling me why the first appt of the day was going to be waiting over an hour.
My father was a doctor and his patients waited too. The difference is, he didn’t double book, he just had patients whose families he had treated for generations and they all wanted to talk to him. That’s the difference between then and now…back then, your family doctor was part of the family, not a businessman trying to make enough to pay for his malpractice insurance.
Toby says:
Merrill – you are a true inspiration!
Bev says:
Yes…I did pick up the fact that the nurse’s picture you used starred in “One Flew Ovew The Coocoo’s Nest”….
Bob Graham says:
One of my pet peeves is the little sign you see at check in that says “Payment is expected at time of appointment”. It seems terribly one-sided. As a patient, appointment is expected at time of appointment.
Tim Antoniewicz says:
I was just saying last week that I should have been a doctor. I went to the doctor because I had a cold/cough that has been hanging on for about two weeks. I figured I better get it checked by a doctor. I was on time (which is good for me) but then waited 25 minutes in the waiting room. After being called back and going through the normal routine like Merrill mentioned (weight, BP, what’s wrong) – I then waited another 20 minutes for the doctor to come in. I am a very patient patient. I don’t use the office phone but I do play with the plastic hearts and organs and look through the cabinets for anything interesting. But when the doctor finally came in he spent a total of 6 minutes with me. Saying something like “Yeah – everyone has been coming down with this.” He wrote a prescription and sent me on my way. I guess what I don’t understand is if he is this quick – why did I wait so long? He should be flying through patients. I really should have been a doctor.
Lorri says:
Merrill — you are so real and too funny!!
I always ask for the first appt of the day/after lunch or the last appt of
the day/before lunch. This has helped some. I want to know why Drs. can call you by your first name but you are expected to call them Dr. (and last name).
Ace says:
If I wait more than 10 minutes I start looking for the latex gloves.
I’ll slip one on just for fun. The doctor seems have a chuckle from it too.
Stacey Weber says:
We all know, waiting is a part of going to the doctor- we expect it, even though we all complain about it. Of course, it is even worse if you are actually sick and not in for just a routine check-up. If you only wait 15-20 minutes, that’s good, right? 30 minutes total, well, that’s pushing it, but you are usually not too annoyed. I agree, it is disrespectful – could you imagine if we did the same thing to clients we go to visit or come to visit us?
Doctors should care about customer service, but they don’t have to change – nearly all of them act the same way, just like the illegible handwriting- I think it’s coercion or maybe they teach it in medical school these days? Here’s the thing, most of us have no clue if our doctor is truly a good doctor or not. Are they doing all the tests they should? Are they reading the results properly? We typically get referrals from friends when choosing a doctor, some of us actually do some more in-depth research, but how many of us actually know enough about the profession or problem at hand to be certain this guy knows what he is doing? How do we judge our doc? -by his customer service! How’s his bedside manner? Do we think he’s a nice guy? How long did we have to wait? How much time did he spend with us? Did he answer all our questions satisfactorily?
Really, customer service should be the most important thing to medical professionals, as that is really the only thing the general population has to go on when formulating an opinion about their doctor. I guess when you expect poor service, getting mediocre service seems great! We wouldn’t put up with it from wait staff or real estate agents, etc., but docs have been getting away with it for a long time now. No, I don’t think the docs “get it” when you make them wait. Why would they change? Clearly, there is no shortage of patients and they don’t have to have good service to make a good living. I like the phone and rummaging through the cabinets ideas, though.
Bette Anne Champion says:
Years ago (and I do mean years!) I worked for a multi-location mall based data collection company. A colleague in another office often complained about how long it took at the doctors office. Much the same experiences as you Merrill. She was nearing retirement and came up with a plan. Her last official act was to recruit 10 physicians for interviews concerning non-clinical office prducts. When the physician arrived they were each to be shown to a private interviewing booth, told to strip to the waist and to put on one of thoes beautiful paper gowns. At this point she would tell them that someone would be right with them…then she was going to walk out the door, knowing that retirement and revenge were sweet.
(The company still exists so I assume she did not follow through but what a lovely idea!)
Kristy Hoover says:
I guess I should thank my doctor for making sure I am comfortable when he arrives. He always asks how I have been, what’s been going on since I saw him last and we may even briefly discuss our most recent vacations or kid’s school projects (all while he is prepping his tongue depressors, etc). He takes the time to listen to what ailments my daughter or I have, asks thorough questions, and takes time to fully understand why we are visiting him. I would prefer to wait a few extra minutes to know my doctor is going to take his time with me, answer all my questions and not rush our appointment.
Doctor’s have to protect themselves from malpractice lawsuits by taking the time they need to avoid a misdiagnosis. That long distance phone call suddenly sounds like a cheap penalty for being a few minutes late. It’s your health…not the cable guy we are talking about here.
Here is a different way to look at the delay – consider the wait a break from your busy day. Carry a book with you to doctor’s appointments, car repair shops and the post office. These places are notorious for long waits so catch up on some reading and enjoy the break!
Sybil Stershic says:
Great post, Merrill! You’d think by now the medical profession would have learned from the airlines, especially the smart gate agents who keep their customers informed of delays. The key is communication – when scheduling gets out of whack, patients, passengers, and all customers appreciate being kept informed instead of being kept in the dark.