Hurry Up And Wait--Bring A Book Along!

Oh, those doctor trips! My recent trips to doctor offices have brought back memories of when I used to take my dad. He was always so nice and apologetic because I had to take off work to take him to appointments. This was frustrating on several levels. I used to make the appointment as early as possible so I could still get to work in the afternoon and not have to take the whole day. Dad knew he moved slow and didn’t want to rush so he was always good about getting up early and being ready to go when I got there. He was so thankful that I took him because at this point, he wasn’t driving anymore—doctor’s orders.

I always took a book along to read because we never were taken at our appointment time and the waiting room always seemed full. Why do they schedule appointments so close together? It seems they have no consideration for their patients’ time. We always had at least a 30-min. wait before we were even allowed into the examining room where the nurse would weigh him and take his blood pressure and test his sugar. Finally, on a good day after about another 20 min. or so we would see the doctor.

Another time, we waited and waited and waited until finally the receptionist said she got a call from the doctor and she’s on her way. I’m thinking, well, I would think so! Since then, I just took of the whole day to take him because it was just too stressful.

Another time, after we waited for 2 hours, the receptionist comes in and tells us the doctor just called and can’t make it, her car broke down.

The blood work was another mess. The lab was in the same building which was very convenient. The first time we went, it was closed. They were on vacation and no one told us. Took off work for nothing that day! We finally reschedule and they take dad’s blood. When we go back for the follow-up appointment, they tell us they didn’t get the blood test results back yet because their fax machine was acting up. Why couldn’t they walk downstairs or take the elevator to get them? This just blew me away. Obviously, we’re there for our follow-up appointment and the doctor hasn’t even looked at the results yet! I walked down to get them.

When dad died at 89, I felt some relief in knowing he no longer had to deal with doctors and pills anymore! Now, here I am having to deal with my health problems. I'm too young for this!

Recently, I have had to go often lately for my mammogram, then an ultrasound, then an aspiration, then a biopsy, then back to hear the bad results and make more appointments. What I don’t understand is why medical secretaries can’t schedule appointments so that we don’t have to wait for hours. Our primary care physician is very good about this. We always get the first time slot and only usually have to wait 5-10 minutes which is acceptable.

For my recent cancer experience, read: How A Phone Call Ruined My Day