Help Us Out

        Do you ever wonder how you could help your doctor's office have a shorter wait time for appointments? No, of course you don't. You only wish your doctor's office had shorter wait times and that THEY would do something about it. (I'm going to let you in on a little secret; most of the time the doctor's office CAN'T do much about it.) We schedule appointments the best we can but what people don't realize is that an appointment time is just a guesstimation. We have to estimate how long we think the appointment will take, depending on the little information we are given. And then we just pray everything goes as planned. So how can you help?

1. Come to your appointment ON TIME. Not early, not late (obviously), but on time. Okay, so you can come a little bit early, but not too early. IF you do come early just know that you will, more than likely, have a longer wait. I, personally, don't like when people come early because then the waiting room fills up and the doctor feels like he is behind and starts stressing, and just like mom, when the doctor's not happy, no one's happy. I also don't like early birds because then I have to keep track of patients charts and make sure the nurses take the right patient back first. First to arrive doesn't mean first to be seen. If you're scheduled for an appointment, the time you will be seen is your appointment time, so don't be surprised if people that arrived after you are seen before you. Their appointment was first. There are exceptions to this rule: a) if they are late to their appointment. I will usually make them wait instead of making everyone else wait. b) if the doctor is running ahead of schedule and doesn't have anyone to see, he might as well see you. I won't bother explaining why you shouldn't be late. That's obvious. It's rude and puts everyone behind. Granted, there are times when it cannot be prevented but calling to let us know or being willing to wait longer (without acting annoyed) is helpful.
2. Keep the chit-chat to a minimum. The longer you spend with the doctor, the longer the patients in the waiting room are kept waiting. (Keep this in mind the next time you are waiting and you'll wish the other patients would stop the small talk and let the doctor get to his next appointment.)
3. Along with the previous one is stay on topic. Remember what you made that specific appointment for and try to talk about just that. OR if you need to be seen for multiple things, tell the person that schedules the appointments that you need to talk about all those things so that they can allot you more time. Classic example at our office: Patient's parent calls to make an appointment and says it is just to see if they have an ear infection. Okay, so we schedule a 10 minute appointment. And then next thing we know the doctor is ordering an x-ray and putting a brace on their arm. Which means the 10 minute ear check turned into a 25 minute ear check and fracture check and are then going for an x-ray which means we now have to follow-up and, depending on the results, they may have to come back in and get a cast. Our favorite one though is when a child comes in for a normal sick visit, (strep, ear check, cough, etc.) and it turns into an emotional or behavioral visit, (depression, anxiety, ADHD) and that puts us REALLY behind.                 ***Just a little break here so I can say something about the doctor I work for. He's amazing. He doesn't rush his patients and makes sure that you get all your questions answered. He knows how long the appointment is scheduled for but makes sure the patient gets the time they need, even if he knows that will put him behind for the rest of the day. Okay, back to the list.***
4. Give just enough information when scheduling an appointment. We don't want your whole life story or a play-by-play of when your child last threw up and what it consisted of (please don't EVER tell us that). But what we do need to know is what you plan on talking to the doctor about. List the symptoms, basically. "My child has a cough and runny nose, and yesterday she stubbed her toe and it might be broken." Then I know to give you extra time to address all of those issues. You should also tell us if your child needs to be seen sooner than later. I'm not sure about other offices but our office will work you into the schedule if needed. Your child's cough is making it hard for them to breathe? Good to know, I won't make you wait until this afternoon to be seen. And IF you aren't sure if it's an emergency or not, ask to speak with a nurse. They can tell you if you're over- or under-reacting. There's nothing worse than scheduling an appointment for later in the day and then when they come for that appointment we find out that their child should have been seen hours ago. But because mom didn't tell us how bad it was we didn't bother to try and work them in sooner. 
5. Just be understanding. And patient. I think there is a reason that word has two meanings. They go hand in hand. Patients need to be patient. Remember that doctors are people and as amazing as they are, they can only do what they can do, and believe me, they have a lot to do. So many times I find myself wishing I could tell people that the doctor is just one person. It's like they forget that just because we have 3 exam rooms doesn't mean we have 3 doctors and that he has to make his way to each room and spend time with each person in that room. And please, please, please remember that if the doctor is running behind it is either because another patient didn't follow one of the tips listed above, or there was an emergency and it probably isn't the scheduler or doctor's office's fault. (Again, I can only say "most" because I'm not sure that other office do things the same way.) Remember, if it was your child the doctor was with you would be grateful the doctor was spending the extra needed time.
6. And last, please don't call and ask if the doctor is running behind or not. Other offices might have different opinions about this but as far as the office I work at goes, don't do it. First of all, if you come to our office you will know that there is rarely a long wait so it's a little offensive that you would think you have to ask. Second, things change from moment to moment. We might be right on time or even ahead of schedule when suddenly we have an emergency or the doctor ends up spending extra time with someone. Basically, something unpredictable happens. And third, I can't tell you if the people scheduled before you will be on time and only use their allotted time with the doctor. It's just impossible to know those things so instead of calling, just make sure you show up on time to your appointment and be patient if things are running behind.