You have an appointment at 10 am with your doctor. You are sitting in a waiting room crammed with other patients and it is now 10:45 am. Sound familiar?
You have wasted at least 45 minutes of your valuable time and your blood pressure is rising! Sound familiar?
Everyone in the room is unhappy, but the receptionist gives no indication as to when you will be seen and tells you to just be patient. She says the doctor had an emergency or was delayed at the hospital and she does not know how soon you will be seen. Sound familiar?
She does not offer to reschedule and, worse yet, she says if you leave you will be charged for the appointment.
Finally, you see the doctor at 11:30 and he casually says “Oh, I hope you weren’t waiting too long … sorry about that.” Sound familiar?
You have now wasted close to 2 hours of your valuable time and the doctor rushes you through your appointment. You leave the appointment frustrated and feel as if your doctor didn’t address the concerns you had that caused you to go to see him in the first place and now you’re mad!
This happens all too frequently.
Can you deduct the value of your time from the doctor’s bill? Should the doctor be accountable for your time or is it just tough luck? More and more patients are letting their doctor’s office know they will deduct a reasonable amount for their time if kept waiting. Some doctors are trying to adjust their practice profiles to minimize delays while others blame the wait on unavoidable paperwork and assume no responsibility for the problem. What do you think?
See the following article: Time Is Money and Some Doctors Are Paying the Price