r/mildlyinfuriating • u/transfatpikachu • 1d ago

I just wanted a hot dog Doctor’s appointment scheduled at 9:00am, still waiting almost an hour later

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I have a lot of doctor’s appointments, and I know how busy and hard these people work. I’m not mad at them and I’d never be rude. I know it’s not on purpose. Nevertheless, it’s still a bit infuriating to make time for a scheduled appointment, arrive 15 minutes early (required), and then wait this long with not even an acknowledgment of the delay from anyone. Sigh. 9:55 now, still waiting.

Edit: I really appreciate all the comments! The doctor ended up coming in shortly after 10. This was a specialist ortho appointment for my shoulder. Still no acknowledgement of the delay, which would’ve been nice, but I’m more annoyed that my concerns were pretty much brushed off again during the whole 3ish minutes he spent with me. I know waits can get long, I wouldn’t care as much if the doctor had at least seemed somewhat concerned with my issue. Sigh… gotta love American healthcare!

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u/ejly 1d ago

Please go let the staff know how long you’ve been waiting and ask for a status update.

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u/CatalinaWineMixerDos 1d ago

I've been forgotten before. It happens. I let them know now.

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u/transfatpikachu 1d ago edited 1d ago

I thought I was forgotten at a different appointment (edit: different hospital and doctor) when they had me wait 5 hours but nah, they just overbook so much. That time I was checking in a lot, they still never apologized lol. All I got was “if you reschedule now you’ll get a cancellation fee”

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u/LadyInCrimson 1d ago

"If you schedule correctly and don't make people wait you wouldn't have a reason to reschedule anyone. "

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u/throwaway1010202020 1d ago

But then they can't collect rescheduling fees

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u/SunnyOutsideToday 1d ago

But people really do no-show all the time, so if they never overbook then they can't see as many patients. It's a lose-lose.

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u/Greeneyednerd 20h ago

But why should I have to be penalized and get overbooked because someone else no shows, when I'm here and on time? Interests of the hospital don't matter more than that. I'm sure they'd see just as many patients

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u/SunnyOutsideToday 19h ago

You're penalized either way by having to wait longer to get an appointment, or having a harder time to find a doctor if they took fewer patients.

If 20% of patients cancel or don't show up to an appointment, and clinics don't overbook, then that means they will see 20% fewer patients then they would otherwise, which means patients wait longer to get appointments or the clinics say they aren't accepting new patients.

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u/Tabula-Rasa-99 7h ago

Practices can call patients to see if they can move their appointments up to fill the space, or take walk-ins when there are cancellations. It's extra admin work and it's really just a bandaid fix but it's still better than the alternative imo.

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u/SunnyOutsideToday 6h ago

I have no idea where you are from, but in the US patients basically always get reminder texts/calls/emails and are texted to confirm whether they are going to show up for their appointment on the day of their appointment.

And you can already ask them to call you if there are any cancellations, and say you will take them, many practices have waiting lists for that, so when a cancellation occurs the person at the top of the waiting list can get that spot.

"Extra admin work" isn't the issue. The issue is that we have a shortage of doctors, most patients can't find a doctor to be their PCP, and people regularly don't show up to their appointments no matter what efforts the clinic makes, which means clinics either need to overbook or see fewer patients.

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u/Tabula-Rasa-99 7h ago

I think charging patients for willful no-showing is a better (yet still very flawed, of course) solution than screwing everyone all the time with overbooking.

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u/SunnyOutsideToday 6h ago edited 1h ago

They already do charge for no-shows (at least in the US). That is to help curb the problem, but they still get between 5-30% no-shows (depending on the source, type of clinic, etc.).

They aren't "screwing everyone" by overbooking. They are trying to see as many people as they can in a system with a shortage of doctors that is only getting worse. Many people cannot find a PCP, and if clinics don't overbook that will only get worse.

There is real talk about moving to a system where physician assistants using AI is the primary care provider for most regular patients, with doctors being reserved for complex cases. Already half of patients see a PA/NP as their PCP, and there are people who argue that the idea of everyone having a doctor that they see is antiquated and that routine doctor's visits should be handled by PA/NP's instead.

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u/Marylovesnasenjis 1d ago

Wait 5 hours. That’s insane!

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u/Tight_Leadership_758 1d ago

That better be one hell of a good doctor to put up with waiting for 5 hours.

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u/transfatpikachu 1d ago

Would you believe me if I told you this is the doctor I saw 3 years ago who (likely) messed my shoulder up, causing me to need all these doctors appointments over the years to try and fix it. He was an ass, and my shoulder is so much worse now after surgery than it was before

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u/Birdsonme 1d ago

I do hope you’ve found a new doctor.

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u/Gupperz 1d ago

im sure the next time they tell it it will be 6 hours and they are charged double fee for cancelling

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u/nalaloveslumpy 1d ago

Holy shit. Find a new practice entirely. It sounds like you don't even need a doctor for anything specific right now, so you could find a PA as your primary to do your insurance required check-ins and blood tests.

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u/transfatpikachu 1d ago

These were two different hospitals, both for my shoulder. The one that had me wait 5 hours is the one who (presumably) messed up my shoulder. It’s been so much worse ever since he did surgery on it, and all of these appointments I’ve made over the years have been trying to get answers/fix it

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u/Tabula-Rasa-99 7h ago

What was their reason for wanting surgery done on it in the first place?

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u/transfatpikachu 7h ago

Torn rotator cuff, he said it would be absolutely necessary to continue playing tennis. Now, other doctors have told me the tear wasn’t really bad enough to warrant surgery

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u/95blackz26 1d ago

5 hours damn. 4 hours before that I would have walked

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u/Discordant_Concord 1d ago

5 hours is unacceptable. Time for a new provider. Tell them you need to be referred out because of this.

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u/Choice-Produce-7146 1d ago

I would've just said "Fuck this" and left. 5 hours is bullshit.

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u/DisposableSaviour 1d ago

Not at all doctors office, but when I was extremely poor and destitute, I went to sell my plasma. After filling out forms and answering basic questions, I had to watch a 20 minute video, and then someone was supposed to come do an assessment and check my vitals and everything. About an hour after the video ended, I went up front to see what was taking so long. The nurse that was “assisting” me had clocked out for the day, and forgotten to tell anyone I was there. They were like, we have to re start your process, including the paperwork, but they were also about to close so I couldn’t do it that day.

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u/BlueHeartBob 1d ago

5 hours? They 100% forgot about you and lied to you about it.

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u/WonderBrilliant3962 1d ago

At one point my rheumatologist was 4 hours late lol. At my old PCPs office at one point my provider went home and they started shutting down the clinic while I was still waiting, and the door was open to my room. 🪦

I get providers are busy and shit happens, I used to work in the medical field before I became disabled, but I feel like 2+ hours at a doctor's office is kind of insane. If you are that behind wouldn't it be better to just ask if any patients can reschedule?

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u/Lonestar041 1d ago

5h?? WTH. If I am not an emergency, I am out after 1h at the lastest. Have done this before.
Even my current doctor, that is sports medicine specialist and does concussion urgent care has never been late by more than 20min and after 10min a nurse updated me.

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u/ilovescoutanddaisy 1d ago

f that. i am not paying a rescheduling fee when YOU were the one who didn't stick to the schedule.

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u/Admirable-Ad7152 1d ago

At that point I'd just assume your office is a fuckin scam

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u/EatLard 1d ago

“Fine. I bill my time at $XX/hr, so I’ll send your office an invoice for my time that you’ve wasted.”