Why I Walked Out of a Doctor Appointment and When You Should Too
There are rare reasons why a patient should wait over an hour to see a doctor
I am a retired MD. I can remember only a rare instance where a patient had to wait over an hour to see me. There are few, if any, good reasons why this should happen. Let me explain. I started a solo cardiology practice in 1982. When I retired in 2015, my solo practice had grown into a 12 person group. I quickly learned that doctors have different styles when seeing their patients. Some are so abrupt and curt that it borders on rudeness. Others have no concept of time and spend almost unlimited minutes with each patient. Patients often gravitate to one type of doctor or another.
I accompanied my wife to see her opthalmologist recently. She has a complicated eye disease history, and one of her eyes was bothering her. Her appointment was soon after lunch, so we presumed she would not have to wait too long. Unfortunately, we were wrong. She checked in at 1:15, and her appointment was for 1:25. Finally, at 2:15, I approached the front desk and asked what the delay might be. “We are running behind and there is still one patient in front of her,” the woman behind the counter said without an apology. Ninety minutes after check-in, I told them we were leaving. This situation seems to be the rule rather than the exception at this particular…
