WAITING ON DOCTORS
Posted by Tim Bryce on October 7, 2016
BRYCE ON PHYSICIANS
– Why can’t they meet you on time?
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One of the most uninviting places to visit has to be a Doctor’s office. First, we normally go there because we have a pain or suffer from some ailment which doesn’t put us in the best of moods to begin with, but to add insult to injury, you have to contend with the peculiarities of the doctor’s office staff, a very cold group of workers who are more concerned with processing you like an order as opposed to treating you like a human-being. On your first visit to a doctor’s office, you are bombarded with a substantial amount of paperwork in triplicate, which I guess we have to thank our attorney friends for. I visited a new doctor recently and was overwhelmed by the paperwork. There were more waivers of rights than there was anything pertaining to my medical history. I felt like I was in an attorney’s office as opposed to a doctor’s.
I’m generally pretty healthy, so when the forms asked me to list the various ailments I’ve suffered with over the years, I answer, “No, No, No, No, No, No, No,…,” you get the idea. They then ask about my dependency on alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sex, etc., to which I usually reply, “Gee, doesn’t everybody?,” which doesn’t amuse the office staff. The fact I answer, “No,” so many times makes them skeptical of my answers, to which they call be back to the office window for further interrogation.
The decor of doctor offices are basically the same which is pretty plain, with outdated or irrelevant magazines to read, and a whiff of isopropyl alcohol in the air. I find patients in the waiting room tend to keep to themselves and do not like to engage in conversation, maybe because they’re embarrassed by their ailment or maybe because they only speak a foreign language. When you try to strike up a conversation with someone, they look at you like they are being interrogated by the FBI or border patrol.
On the walls of the office are the doctor’s degrees and certificates which are intended to impress you. Some doctors tend to overdue it though as they frame everything from their college degree to their safety patrol or bar mitzvah certificates.
I guess what irritates me the most though is making an appointment with a doctor which he or she rarely keeps. If I’ve got an appointment, medical or otherwise, I tend to arrive a few minutes early as I do not like to be late. However, doctors’ really do not value your time, even when you take time off from work to visit them. I’ve got a problem with this as I wouldn’t treat my customers this way. If you cannot meet me on time, tell me up-front so I can make other arrangements, but do not take my time for granted. I might understand a couple of minutes delay due to another patient, but 15, 30, 45, or 60 minute delays? NFW.
If the doctor is late, my impatience slowly brews until I can’t take it anymore and storm out of the office (I’ve done this on more than one occasion), and frankly, I wish more people would do likewise. The office staff then tries to threaten you that they will still bill you for the appointment, which is actually a veiled threat. I just point out the time to them, tell them I had a verbal contract to meet with the doctor at a given time, and since he/she failed to appear on time, threaten to bill them for my lost time. I just can’t figure out why after practicing medicine for so long, they can’t make a simple schedule and keep it. Everybody else does. To me, its a sign of disrespect.
Doctors are not alone in terms of having poorly run offices; Dentists are just as guilty, but the only thing worse than a doctor’s office has to a hospital, which even the doctors describe as, “One of the unhealthiest places on Earth.”
Also published with News Talk Florida.
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
For Tim’s columns, see: timbryce.com
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Copyright © 2016 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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THE BRYCE IS RIGHT! 
Tim Bryce said
A T.M. of Massachusetts wrote…
I no longer sign rights waivers. The most common is that “you agree to pay what insurance does not cover.” When I respond asking for a quote for the services to be provided and what insurance will cover, they cannot do this. You and I would be out of business if we told customers we have no idea how much we’re going to charge them until the work is done.
My response on payment waivers is to suggest they check my payment history to see if we’ve not paid any bill in a full and timely manner, or send me home.
My other response is to the effect that I did not make the appointment contingent on insurance coverage. BTW, for annual check-ups, my insurance company dropped the once-every-365 days deal to “once per calendar year.” This makes appointment making dramatically easier.
My most recent event was cataract surgery in August. The right eye has been failing gradually for almost four years. In June 2016, when asked to read the letters on the chart, my response was to the effect, ”That white blur on the wall? Is that the chart?” The surgeon is a youngster, aren’t they all, from India. Rebecca is a very, very capable doctor. She mentioned that insurance may not cover the whole procedure. I asked, worst case what kind of dollars are we talking about? Although not cheap, if the results were close to as predicted, I’m fine with paying what needs to be paid.
This is as close to a medical miracle as I have ever experienced. I went from effectively unable to make out any detail on anything, to 20/20+ vision. Colors are truer than my natural eye. “Yes, I gave you a very nice lens” was Rebecca’s comment when I marveled about color clarity.
How do I discretely say this Bro. Bryce, much of the treatment patients receive is reflective of the way the patients treat the staff.
\However, regarding time, I’m with you. After 15-minutes, I want a detailed expectation of when we can meet, otherwise, reschedule based on what’s convenient for me. I promise, if I’m late for the appointment, don’t push others out because of me.
Go ahead, schedule an appointment with one of your clients. Then tell them you have an important client and you’ll get to the one waiting as soon as possible. Right!
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ANTHONY McCARTHY said
I totally agree with you. Arrive early, it comes around to your time and 15-30 minutes later you are still waiting. I believe it to be the same in Ireland.
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