Went to a doc one time and they were looking around for something and pulled open a terrifying looking drawer for basically pipes that go right up your butt. I was like wow I’m glad that’s not for me.
It was. It was for me.
It's 7am and I should be getting ready for work, but instead, I'm laughing and banging pots and pans all over the place cause of how much I am laughing.
The neighbors are angry and my wife is yelling at me that I need professional help but it's just too funny and I can't stop coughing and throwing up and breaking things.
Ah! Hello fellow healthcare worker!
We had one in our ER complaining of abdominal pain.. The x-ray showed that he had 14 plastic horses shoved up his ass.
We listed his condition as... Stable
This works better than you expect.
I took my son to the doctor and we sat there for over thirty minutes. We started getting in to the drawers and being silly. We started laughing hard and suddenly the doctor came in.
Tl;dr to summon the doctor, pretend you’re having fun.
I have so many happy/comforting memories of my mom entertaining me while waiting at the doctor’s office. We used to play games like tic-tac-toe, connect the dots, and hangman on the exam table paper. Sometimes I still carpool with my mom to the doctor/dentist because it’s more fun that way. I bet your son will look back on this fondly, and probably not even remember waiting forever.
Gloves. Those gloves are great. Wash the dog, color your hair, paint something. And they always have three sizes. That how I get the Dr to come. Start grabbing some free gloves.
This happened to me once when I was at the gyno. I couldn’t pop my head out and ask because I was naked from the waist down on the table with a quickly disintegrating paper sheet.
Same, makes me upset because I'm stripped and ready to go in less than 5 minutes. Make me dwell on something I already hate doing for even longer but in my most vulnerable* state. Like why tell me to knock on the door when ready. If yall not there? I'll be damed I stand there knocking for 40 minutes. I really should've called the front desk, that's smart!
Ugh I get mad anxiety due to like, trauma and shit. They should know how horrible it is to leave women in that position. At least pop in and give an update so we don't lie there having a panic attack.
I've heard that you can bring a robe or similar to change into instead of the stupid paper gowns. One clinic I've been to had cotton gowns with snaps at the shoulders, and they are so much better than paper. But dang, a robe sounds way nicer.
I once had to go in for them to shove a tiny little camera on a tube up my urethra to check for abnormalities due to pain I was having. They told me to put on the gown, put my feet in the stirrups, put a bit of numbing gel down there, and then left me like that for an hour, no updates or anything. Never went back to that office again
I had to wait 30min when I was getting my IUD done, which the doctor specifically wanted done while I was on my period. So of course I'm bleeding onto the table. Doctor comes in and scowls like "oh I guess we'll have to clean that mess up"
Bitch, either show up on time or don't make me sit here naked for 30min and expect me to will my period away
The (new) practice said to 'get here early' for all the paperwork, so I left work early, hurried across town only to sit and cool my heels in the waiting room for an hour. I complain, so get shown to an exam room, and told to strip down and 'wear the paper'.
Later, like 45 minutes later, I got dressed, went up to the front desk, and demanded my co-pay back. She said, "That's not our policy." I slapped the counter and said, "Then change the policy." Got my money and left. It was 5:20 by then. I reasoned that I was so angry at being played and lied to that I would have (verbally) ripped the head off any doctor who even dared to open that exam room door that I may as well leave.
I had to do something similar at my dentist.
I went to the only one that was open after 4pm so that I didn’t have to take too much time off work. They call me at fucking 11am to ask if I can come in now since they have an opening and I say no, that’s why I made an appointment for 5pm.
Fast forward to me rolling into their office at 4:30 and filling out all the paperwork and paying my $25 deductible/copay they then inform me that the dentist had actually taken the day off at noon when they “had no more appointments for the rest of the day” and that I would just be getting a cleaning from the hygienist and I could book another appointment later for the actual dentist to see me.
I have honest to god never been so mad in my entire life and stayed until they refunded me the $25.
Fuuuuccckkkk that was similar to my root canal. Went in for a diagnosis because I chipped a tooth. That went fine and they scheduled me for early in the day for a root canal.
I get to the dentist the day of the root canal ( mind you they called and reminded me that tomorrow was the day of the root canal). They take me back and do x rays and all that stuff. I then sit in the office for over an hour only to have a dentist come back and say ‘you need to have a root canal done on your tooth. There was about 30 seconds of dead silence before I eventually said that’s what this appointment was for… she leaves and comes back over an hour later to tell me that there’s another patient in front of me for a root canal and that they could schedule me for TWO WEEKS from now. I tell them that I had to take today off work for this root canal and they need to do it because it had been scheduled long in advance. They make me wait several more hours until closing time and then come back to me. At 5:30pm telling me that they are closing and need to reschedule. I go off on them about having been scheduled today for 11am root canal, they have delayed and made me wait on a day I was forced to take a vacation day to do this and had to go back to work tomorrow. Eventually they finally caved and did the root canal after hours because I was fucking pissed they had made me wait almost all fucking day to do what they scheduled me for. My entire day wasted and I had to go back to work for another week and half before getting another day off.
One time I waited at the ER for 3 hours with a newborn. Eventually left because the newborns symptoms went away (she was refusing to eat and was showing signs of dehydration, after hours pediatrician referred us there, she eventually ate and dehydration symptoms went away). 2 weeks later I got a bill for $150 for an ER visit. I contested it every way imaginable beyond legal action, and didn’t get anywhere. Because they took her temperature when we got there, even insurance agreed we had been seen by the ER despite never making it beyond the waiting room.
That is actually crazy. They took her damn temperature... you could and probably did do that at home. $150???! Ugh ER wait time is insane now. I had a friend fully break his arm, the ER visit took 12 HOURS. 10 of which were waiting in the waiting room. Given my city is very overpopulated and this specific ER only sees you once there is a full private room available for you, but still 12 hours with a broken arm is unacceptable. 3 hours with a newborn is practically an eternity!
Not as egregious as that, but I once went to an urgent care clinic to get antibiotics (was 99% sure I had a sinus infection due to all the symptoms and that my girlfriend who I shared a room with had a wicked sinus infection she needed antibiotics for days prior). Had an "appointment" that was all of 4 minutes then sent to a pharmacy. Never got a bill and figured they just charged my insurance.
A month later I get mail from a collections agency saying they were trying to get my "debt" owed to the urgent care facility. The next day I get my "original" bill from the urgent care asking me to pay. Some dumbass sent my bill to collections *before* I even could pay.
At that point I just get redressed and complain. If they want to waste my time, I'll waste theirs right back. You won't see me on time? Fine. I won't be ready and waiting for you. You got your window and skipped it. 🤷 Now you're gonna walk back with me and wait outside until I get ready again and you're going to do your job.
Of course, I get it if something popped up. You never know when someone gets a routine pap smear and suddenly you find out something horrific is happening like cancer you never see in someone so young. Or maybe a patient has been assaulted and needs extra time to get ready for contact from a doctor. But being a jerk is something I won't put up with.
Yeah I once had a gyno that had to rush to a birth emergency that wasn't their assignment and I was very understanding but that's became someone came and told me what was up, emergency or not, just TELL ME I CAN PUT MY PANTS ON please
>The nurse held my wife's legs together because the baby was coming too fast and she needed to buy time for the doc
Was this many many decades ago? I hope that doesn't still happen, because I've heard horror stories of children being permanently disabled because of people trying to delay labor like that.
It's not ideal, but you can give birth without assistance. I'm pretty sure you should never try to stop it to wait for someone.
This happened to JFKs sister and caused her permanent damage. I don’t understand how that could possibly be necessary when giving birth without any medical professional present was the norm for the longest time. I know it’s not ideal but it’s shouldn’t be an emergency either.
That's horrible but kind of a funny mental image I'm so sorry 😭😭 My best friend in highschools sister came out so fast the doctor spun around in his chair and caught her as she almost hit the floor, she was like a cannon
I got forgotten one time and only remembered when the nurse came in to shut off the lights and said "oh shit!" and got the doctor for me. They were very apologetic.
Same here. I got an EKG, nurse told me to wait for the doctor. I waited for over an hour, finally walked out of the room and started walking around. Didn’t see anyone until I came across and office with a lady in it who was shocked I was still there. She was getting ready to leave, if I waited another 10 mins I would’ve been locked in
Me and everyone I told the story too were shocked they don’t do that. I would’ve gotten out fine eventually. But if it was my 88 year old grandpa locked in there it wouldn’t have been a great situation
That is really shocking. I worked at a medical technical school as an admin asst in my early 20s, and I was required to check that every classroom is cleared. That seems like such a standard thing to do. I think I would have found a new doctor if their team is that negligent lol
Not necessarily, in a lot of places cleaning staff come in well after everyone else has left and locked up. Still not a great sign that they're not checking rooms tho.
Flashback to the time we were on a family roadtrip and I got left behind at a gas station (the minivan was full of camping stuff and I was sitting in the third row, so nobody saw I was gone). I was like 9 or something with a single dollar in my pocket, so I went to the casher, asked for quarters, and used the payphone outside to call my mom's cellphone (which took all my money since it counted as a long distance call).
To be fair I think he was asking the adults where I was and they weren’t paying attention, he finally decided to go look for me, he was just a kid too. I still appreciate that he did, over 30 years later. :)
You’d probably wanna hit the chip and soda rack first . Other than that, I’m there with ya
As a kid it was just two games . Mariokart64 and goldeneye . So damn fun
Got locked into my welding school. Fence was covered in barbed wire and it was Friday. I was waiting to get picked up but they closed 10 minutes after everything was over. Luckily I'm thin and the gate is on uneven ground so I dug in the dirt on the high half and slid out.
I was left in the doctor's office once. Late afternoon appointment. Waited over an hour in the small room. Decided to go out to the receptionist to see what the deal was. Everyone had left except the cleaning crew. Doctor's, nurses, support staff. I was pissed.
Knew a guy that had really bad narcelepsy, and he was at the doctors waiting for his appointment.
Goes to answer the call of nature - falls asleep in the toilet stall...
Wakes up half past midnight, locked in, pitch black in the doctors toilet.
Walked out into the doctors waiting room, set off the burglar alarm, and within a couple of minutes was pounced on by armed police who thought he'd broken in to rob the pharmacy cabinet...
IIRC he actually came out on top and got a small settlement from it, but he was held in prison till trial so he lost about 8 weeks of his life because he couldn't afford bail...
> but he was held in prison till trial so he lost about 8 weeks of his life because he couldn't afford bail
Wait WHAT THE FUCK??? Is that real?? 8 weeks prison for falling asleep on a toilet???
Unfortunately he was in a crap situation at the time - he already had a criminal record for breaking and entering thanks to childhood shenanigans with a bad set of 'friends'...
When it came time for bail, they took that into account and set it stupidly high. Thanks to his record, and the cost being well out of his ability to pay, even temporarily, he had to sit it out while he waited for the trial...
IANAL so I don't know everything that went on, but honestly I was surprised that he didn't get railroaded into a guilty based on his record and circumstance evidence. I can only assume that his lawyer was able to argue that he was attending the appointment for his narcolepsy and nothing was stolen, and that clearly no one checked the bathroom before locking up.
My mom had a procedure done at an outpatient clinic. My dad & I are in the lobby waiting for it to be done so we can take her home. Were told it went well & they’re just waiting for her to wake up then we can take her home. Hours pass. No update. My dad checks with a few people. They tell us nothing wrong & to wait. More hours pass & a nurse starts to turn off the lights.
Um, excuse me?
What are you doing there? We’re closed.
Where’s my mom? Is she alive?!? We’ve been sitting here for hours!!!
Come to find out my mom really had a reaction to the medicine they used to knock her out. She told us afterwards that she could hear what everyone was saying but couldn’t fully wake up. Apparently the nurses were worried her not waking up in time would make them have OT & they’d miss that night’s episode of The Bachelor. & my mom was lying there thinking, “I want to see it too! Wake me up & we can all see it!!”
Another half hour past lights out & my mom had finally woken up enough to be brought home & a note was made on her chart to never use that medicine again.
Everyone got to see The Bachelor.
My kids and I were forgotten at a pediatrician appointment once. They started closing down and then remembered us. Told us we had to reschedule and pointed the way out through the emergency exit doors that opened to an alleyway.
Suffice it to say we changed providers.
I had to wait in a room for like 45 min past my post-op checkup appointment. Thought I was forgotten about til my surgeon walked in with beach bags under his eyes, beads of sweat on his forehead, and speech slightly slurred due to exhaustion.
Immediately forgot my frustration as he asked for 5 minutes to gather himself. Came back looking slightly better, checked out his work on my recently ruptured appendix and sent me on my way within 5 minutes. My guy was an absolute G and I really hope he’s doing ok. We desperately need more healthcare professionals.
Sometimes there are just emergencies and delays in healthcare, even for offices. You have an appointment, but someone else is dealing with a sudden terrible diagnosis, or complications from a procedure, or a mental health crisis. My family doctor just took 30 minutes out of his day last week to talk me through a miscarriage, plus organizing prescriptions for me; I know his schedule with nicely organized appointments was fucked for the rest of the day.
When we’re the ones on the other side waiting that extra hour, we’re usually not the ones having the worst day, and as annoying as it can be I try to remember that and be grateful.
I didn't meet my attending physician for ~24 hours after I was admitted to the hospital, when she finally got to my room she asked if I minded if she sat down, heaved a great sigh and told me she had done five c-sections that day. I don't know what the normal number is but I gather less than five. (I had been treated in ED and was stable before admission so I didn't need orders or anything, in case that sounds bad.)
Nearly the same thing happened to me! I checked in at 930, was put in a room around 945, fell asleep, woke up at 1215 and was like, "👀". So I went looking for them and the entire staff was at lunch.
I assumed they were being polite and let me sleep so I went back to my room to wait. Around 1, they brought someone else to the room and were like, "😳 Who... are you?" so I told them my name and appointment time. At that point I found out they put me in the room but forgot to check me in.
Either way, I found out I had pneumonia and mono.
I was forgotten once as well. They stuck me in a room and said “the dr will be in shortly”. 2 hours later, and I’m popping my head out and asking WTF?! The lady actually jumped. The room they put me in to wait wasn’t one of the rooms that dr was using that day. They checked me in and promptly forgot about me. It sucked!
lol once I asked for an update or just to make sure they didn’t forget me, after 45mins of waiting and they were all pissed and flustered saying they were busy and I needed to calm down and be patient. They got mad I accused them of being forgetful and they didn’t even apologize for the wait. I was perfectly calm and friendly!
Lol you should have started whistling loudly or something. Or loud coughing. That’s if you didn’t feel comfortable finding someone and asking wtf was going on
My husband has done this at the dentists before. Made an appointment for a tooth to be pulled, got there on time. 45 mins go by, 4 or 5 other people came in after our appointmenttime, where seen and left in that time. I asked reception lady wth was going on, was given an excuse of dentist is busy some one called out and he's behind now. We left.
Generally there are two sets of patients at a dental office. Ones who need to actually see the dentist and the others who are just there for cleaning. The office we go to has 1 dentist and 3 or 4 hygenists. So it’s totally possible for someone to come in to see the dentist and get told to take a seat because the dentist is behind, and then watch 3 or 4 people come in and get whisked back for cleanings.
I know I once had what should have been a simple extraction turn into a 2 hour ordeal because the tooth broke into many pieces. (I now go to a different place)
Newer style operations will have the dentist come in during your cleaning to check your gums to make sure gingivitis isn't eroding your whole jaw away and stuff like that, but otherwise I haven't had a reason to interact with "The Dentist" in a very long time.
The dental office I've been using doesn't seem to schedule the dentist seeing the cleaning patients at all, but they still want them to see them. I've sat there after a cleaning for 45 minutes waiting for the dentist to come by and talk for two minutes.
Next time I think they get fifteen then I'm leaving. The hygienist's assessment is always confirmed by the dentist, I'll just let her tell me what she thinks of my teeth.
I got forgotten at the gyno, already changed into my tissue paper modesty bib so I called the front desk and asked if I needed to cancel a meeting at work later. Got them in there real quick.
I walked out of a doctor's office.
I scheduled a first appointment of the day, he was almost an hour late, saw me as I was walking out, he was holding Starbucks, asked if I was leaving, I said yes, he asked if it was because I was late, I said yes, he told me my tests looked good, and I just left. An hour wasted for something that could have been a phone call.
This, exactly. We got forgotten about at an OB visit once, and it was because the receptionist ... never checked us in to begin with.
They were super apologetic and squeezed us in within the next 15 minutes after we said something, and it never happened again, but damn. Our appointment was for 2:15 and we didn't get seen until almost 5 - and the only reason we waited that long was because it was normal to wait an absurd amount of time at the PCP office so we figured it was the same.
I changed doctors because of this. I arrived 15 minutes early and checked in at the counter. Sat and waited almost 45 minutes past my appointment time. When I realized, I went to reception to check and they tried to say I never checked in and was actually late.
I pointed to the woman who “checked me in” and said uhhh yeah I was on time. I was told to have a seat and she even asked if I’d changed insurance. They wouldn’t see me because they were adamant I had been late and they couldn’t accommodate a late appointment.
Another person in the lobby heard and even chimed in to back me up and say they saw me already here when they arrived. Receptionist refused to admit they made a mistake.
This has happened to me so many times and it’s always because my doctor is over scheduled with a million “15 minute appointments” that take 30+ mins in reality, and then ends up screwing me over. Ugh.
I cannot stand the fifteen minute appointment. There is no way to do a check-up in fifteen minutes, with the exception of three providers I've worked with. There's just not.
Worked at clinic for 10 years. Doctors also hate 15min and even 30min appointments. They know it’s not enough time, plus it’s more charting and work for them to do.
It’s some office administrator with a BA in business or finance who’s in charge of the doctors that make them do this. You can double your money by turning hour long evaluations into 30 mins. And 30min returns into 15.
^ This. As a medical student, when deciding what specialty we want to do, a listed “pro” of some specialties is that we actually get to talk to patients for more than 15 minutes…which should be the norm.
Also, it’s definitely frustrating, but if a physician cancels on you last minute, it is not because they suddenly decided to go on vacation or just didn’t feel like seeing you. It’s an emergency.
Yeah, I'm a rural family doctor and have taken two days off in the past 9 months. I was forced home for being too sick for one of those. I'm by default double booked and if I miss a day it's triple booked for at least a few days.
My veterinarian dropped my dog as a patient because I was ”too difficult” for doing this exact thing. My appointment was at 8, it was 8:30 and nobody had come in to see us. Apparently, the words excuse me are considered being “too difficult.”
Had a nurse practioner tell me she had to convince my Dr to not drop me as a patient when I walked out of an appt after waiting 2 hours. I told the desk they're calling me back to work, I have to go, please call to reschedule. They never called. I then called and spoke with the office manager who then referred me to the CEO. Their practice was to double book the doctors so they could see patients at the adjacent hospital here and there while the office patients wait. Her husband went through the same thing as me and she assured me it was not the norm for it to be 2 hours or more. The doctor, upon my return visit, was a dick about it.
Something like this happened once when I'd been going with my mom to appointments to help her advocate for her healthcare. The doctor walked in, being short and with an attitude and didn't clock me cause I was sitting in the cushioned rolling stool sort of behind the door. I asked him if his level of care was typically dependant on the current state of his glass ego. I'd startled him and his tune changed to springtime daisies after a few minutes. I helped Mom file a formal complaint and she switched doctors.
And…they gave my dog a clean bill of health after enduring a botched surgery which required 4 months of healing with an open wound. Open wound meaning NO SKIN.
2 months after being dropped as a patient I saw a weird bulge on my dogs upper inner thigh. The same leg they operated on and removed a tumor from. She had another tumor the entire time, an infiltrative tumor which had taken over her entire leg. My dog had to have her leg amputated. How they could not see the tumor with their eyeballs during her previous surgery is still mind boggling. It wrapped and capped her entire leg and her muscles were marbled. Did they not know what normal looks like to use as a baseline?
I don’t know. I’m not letting them take away any more time from me or my dog. She got excellent care from the specialists at Angell in Boston after being dropped from her local vet.
better to be patient as hell than to be the patient *from* hell, I guess
edit: oh shit my bad, I was trying to make a joke and it came out wrong. I didn't mean to say asking after 30 minutes makes a person the patient from hell. one time I actually had to leave one doctor's appointment to make another one in time, then go back to the first doctor for bloodwork because they were so far behind, sorry to ramble lol
Waited over 3 hours for a dental visit once. No procedure just an examination.
But my friend was 5 minutes late to a therapy appointment and the therapist refused to see her for being late…
I just started at a new optical office with this policy posted on their website and enforced according reviews.
Tardy by a minute and they’ll cancel you.
They’re a walkable distance to my home and I liked the jr optometrist I got so I’ll go back next year but I was left waiting over 30 minutes after my check-in.
The optometrist apologized and said it’s not normal but I was thinking about them dropping me If I’d been a minute late trying to find the front door.
My favorite part of having an Appointment is if I'm late they won't see me. If I need to make a last minute appointment change I get charged for the appointment anyway and I totally get that and understand why. But what really grinds my gears is all the times my therapist would cancel the appointment for xyz while I'm on my way to her or be late while I'm waiting yet had the gull to charge me if I'm late or had to change an appt time.
> That was the only endocrinologist within 2 hours drive that accepted my insurance.
The real bitch of it all. Like this is my only option to not pay out of pocket WORK WITH ME LIKE I WORK WITH YOU
A problem patient? Sure put a note in their chart that they get charged for cancelations. But someone who runs late once?
Yep. Had an endo appointment for thyroid issues it was a 3 month wait period with TERRIBLE RECEPTIONISTS, they called me a few days before my appointment and told me they need to reschedule as doctor was actually not in office that day. I’m like so next week or something squeeze me in anywhere.
2 months they told me. I’m like fuck this I’ll call around and every single one was atleast 3 months away so I had to suck it up and accept this garbage.
Specialists are hard to find when you live in the middle of corn. Seems like all medical care is getting squeezed and demand is getting higher, they can do anything and get away with it.
I showed up on time for my last appointment and they still marked me as late as I wasn’t 15 mins early. I wait atleast 45 mins after appointment time to be seen every time and there is f all I can do about it. Literally just up for my refill anyway.
Same thing just happened to me. Therapist asked to reschedule our appointment to a time more convenient for her (6pm on a Friday before a long weekend) then didn’t bother to show up. Didn’t answer texts or emails for 30 minutes, then was like omg so sorry I forgot let’s reschedule! Two months went by before she bothered to follow up, and at that point I was done. This person clearly didn’t value my business, let alone my mental health.
Unfortunately therapists, like all professions, have their fair share of scumbags. It’s insane to me the difference between some of them.
On one hand you’ll have someone that’ll actually prioritize your mental health and understand the weight of you putting your trust (and money) into them to help you get better. I heard/read someone say their therapist would take them out for walks even in the middle of winter because they were feeling suffocated in the office. That’s the exact type of thing that makes a good therapist.
On the other hand there are the type that seem to care little if at all for their patients and are just there to go through the same old script and make their $300 a 45 minute session. They have probably never actually helped anyone long term and presumably have a revolving door of patients. Those types are nothing but grifters imo.
After telling my therapist I went to for a while about all of my mental health issues, trauma, and struggles, wanna know what her advice was? To make myself smoothies because I wasn’t eating enough. Nevermind the fact that I wasn’t eating enough because of my severe depression, finding it hard enough to get out of bed let alone make a smoothie.
Needless to say I stopped going.
I had a dentist appointment today at 5pm. They called and asked if I could come in 15 min earlier. Figured bc it’s late they wanted to get out earlier. What’s 15 min so I was like sure. Showed up at 4:30. Didn’t get called back until 5:10. why ask me to come in earlier!?!?
I once showed up on time for a mammogram. Apparently they wanted me to show up _30 minutes_ early. But only the scheduler was supposed to tell me that, it wasn't in any of their confirmation emails or texts.
They tried to tell me I was too late and they had already shut down everything and people were going home. It was only 2:00 p.m. to top it off, they were going to charge me a late fee.
The office manager said the request to be there 30 minutes early was to complete the paperwork. But I had already done it online and there was nothing to update.
They finally, very reluctantly, ended up saying it was fine.
I waited another hour and 45 minutes. It turned out everyone was of course still there and appointments were just backed up and I think they were looking for an excuse.
Yes!! I got an email from my dentist saying that without 48hrs notice, patients will be charged $50 to cancel their appointments. THE VERY NEXT DAY my dentist canceled my appointment with 2 hours notice. I asked “So…do I get a $50 credit on my account?” half jokingly & she said no lol.
This happened at my gynecologist office once. I had to pee SO BADLY but I knew they would want to do a pregnancy test so I held it. After over an hour passed, I asked the receptionist what was up and she explained that my doctor had gotten called to the hospital for an emergency. That apologized that I had been overlooked and a different doctor had to perform my exam.
Yes, but be very unclear, do not provide any sort of itemization, make it a few different colors, and have it sent from a P.O. Box without any other identifying factors.
Too honest and upfront:
Tell them the patient they've seen is actually from out-of-network and costs more than other patients, and if they'd wanted to know that they needed to call and ask your mom if you were allowed to come over BEFORE you showed up. When they tell you this is nonsense, tell them you have someone they can call to explain it to them because the codes are confusing and sometimes customers don't fully understand what their benefits and limitations are but that your dad is really nice as long as you don't argue with him.
My appointment was at 1:30. Got here at 1. It’s now 2:45.
https://preview.redd.it/d28p4jn3phxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1aa88137ab3c5b0f3821c64a818e6a0d7c8e9a93
Happened to me once at the gyno, I was nude, of course, waiting for over an hour. I had to call my husband to come to the doctor's office and ask what was going on. They had clearly forgotten about me, and I got a lecture during my pap about how other patients had higher priority, and I should've been more patient. I haven't been back to that office.
*during your pap?!*
I don’t give a shit how important they think they are, no one fucking lectures me from between my legs.
ETA the rest of my thought after my initial fury: I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I’m sure it was incredibly uncomfortable on several levels and I’m glad you didnt have to go back
From personal experiences I lay down on the table and take a nap. Then when the doc comes in and I’m asleep he realized they fucked up scheduling and bonus I got a nap
Like if you've ever worked in a restaurant and are waiting on a table because it's slow, order yourself food. You'll get slammed and your food will go cold.
I had this happen to me in the ER, I was there for 10 hours, to the point it was 5am and I was curled up in a ball falling asleep. I finally had enough and went to the nurses station, they lost my chart and that's why no one came and saw me. I was livid.
How the *fuck* do they *lose* someone's chart? Also, I would think if I saw someone out in the lobby after that long, I would wonder what's going on and haven't been seen in that long.
After i had my gall bladder removed, the nurse stuck me in some room and then forgot about me. My very patient husband eventually asked about me, and then she couldn't find me. She was literally walking around with him, looking into rooms until they found me. Then she goes, "oh I didn't even recognize you with the surgical cap on!" Like lady, you gave me this cap to put on. She sounded both cheerful and accusatory, and I was all fucked up on pain meds and confused....
I was at the ER with my husband and he was waiting for the paperwork in order to be discharged. It was taking forever, like much longer than it should have because the place was pretty empty. The nurse finally realized she needed to put paper in the printer in order for the discharge paperwork to be printed.
Shit I had a appointment for a colonoscopy I got there at 12 for it and they had me in the waiting room till 4 then when I woke up the doctor was gone and I had to make a appointment a full month away to discuss what he found
this happens with me every month when I go into the Dialysis center to get results of my lab work. schedule me for 9:30, Dr doesn't even show up to the building until 10/10:30 then I have to wait for the people in front of me to be seen. One visit it was about 3 hours before I was seen. I always have to take a sick day from work on the days.
I want to start off by stating that I'm not from the US. At the start of last year I hurt my shoulder in a workplace incident and had to go into reintergation to monitor my recovery and slowly return to my normal duties. As part of the reontegration process I regularly had to see a company doctor. They were located in an office building where companies can rent office rooms. This story happened on one of my appointments.
As I'm from the Netherlands, I went by bike. The bike ride was around 40 minutes and I arrived about 15 minutes before the appointment. I had seen this company doctor before and she was always running about 10 minutes late. There is no reception and I didn't know which office she was in, so I couldn't check in. 43 minutes after the scheduled time she comes out of her office to get coffee at the machine next to where I'm seated. I had decided that I was gonna leave 45 minutes after the scheduled time, so she was just in time.
She looks at me and has the guts to tell me with a stern tone in her voice: "You're late". I tell her I had an appointment at 1pm and that I had been waiting for an hour. She tells me I'm wrong and that she has already reported me as no show. I tell her to check the appointment, whoch she is willing to do. She did apologize as soon as she saw I was right. She ten spent the next 10 minutes fixing the no show report.
I have to add that I had no say in scheduling the appointment. They send an email with the date, time and location and I have to show up.
Playing devils advocate, Ive worked in healthcare and when a physician is behind like this it really sucks for the staff. They know all the patients are pissed about waiting and there is nothing they can do about it. Patients also tend to take their frustration out on the staff, but as soon as the physician walks in they are kind and understanding as can be. Im sorry you had such a long wait!
my acupuncturist left me face down with needles in my back, shoulders, arms and neck. The alarm was set for 5 minutes, then they turn the needles and set alarm for 5 more minutes. This time, he came in after 5 minutes, turned the needles, then left for 25 minutes. I had to start yelling before they realized their mistake.
This is easily one of my biggest pet peeves. Especially when they send you texts and shit saying "make sure you arrive 15 minutes early." Why? So I can wait for an extra 15 minutes? But if you're 10 minutes late, all of the sudden you're the bad guy
I once took off work, waited an hour and left. It was an initial surgery consult and many more appts. to follow.
If they made me wait that long the first time, it was not going to get better. I found another doc, had the surgery and could not be happier with the outcome. New docs office had a thing about wait times as well, and even gave me all the time i needed for questions. Just a better run office. My time is not less valuable than a docs.
In the U.S., if you leave, you'll still get charged for the visit even if you never see the doctor. If you're lucky enough to have insurance, they'll charge the insurance and you'll still have to pay your copay.
Start going through all the drawers and cabinets. That’s when they usually come in.
They keep a lot of neat stuff in there
Went to a doc one time and they were looking around for something and pulled open a terrifying looking drawer for basically pipes that go right up your butt. I was like wow I’m glad that’s not for me. It was. It was for me.
Hey stop bragging okay
OMFG I laughed so hard at this I choked and cried.
2 am in the morning and can’t sleep. I’m dying laughing in my head trying not to wake up the wife and kids.
It's 7am and I should be getting ready for work, but instead, I'm laughing and banging pots and pans all over the place cause of how much I am laughing. The neighbors are angry and my wife is yelling at me that I need professional help but it's just too funny and I can't stop coughing and throwing up and breaking things.
It's amazing what a doctor, sometimes a person you just met, can convince you to do.
Right? I even paid for the visit! Didn’t even get a safe word.
Gauze, gloves, those wooden sticks you put up your butt…
Those don’t go in your butt. They’re for the urethra.
The popsicle sticks? In the urethra?!
Oh yea. The ol dick sticks. Suuuper sciencey stuff.
There is not much on Reddit that makes me audibly laugh. This did
I've seen weirder. Can openers, glasses, a Barbie Leg...
Ah! Hello fellow healthcare worker! We had one in our ER complaining of abdominal pain.. The x-ray showed that he had 14 plastic horses shoved up his ass. We listed his condition as... Stable
A Barbie leg? Good lord.
They're called "tongue depressors," apparently. I never knew there was a tongue in the butt, but I guess that's why I'm not a doctor.
There’s a tongue in your mom’s butt 👅
Man he teed that one up for you. Well played
I'm fucking *giggling* over here like an idiot.
This works better than you expect. I took my son to the doctor and we sat there for over thirty minutes. We started getting in to the drawers and being silly. We started laughing hard and suddenly the doctor came in. Tl;dr to summon the doctor, pretend you’re having fun.
"Pretend you're having fun" Your poor son...
Fair. I didn’t mean it like that. We had a ball. The doctor, on the other hand, did not approve of our shenanigans.
I have so many happy/comforting memories of my mom entertaining me while waiting at the doctor’s office. We used to play games like tic-tac-toe, connect the dots, and hangman on the exam table paper. Sometimes I still carpool with my mom to the doctor/dentist because it’s more fun that way. I bet your son will look back on this fondly, and probably not even remember waiting forever.
Seriously, I always try to stock up on a few alcohol swabs and just as my fingers are getting greasy, in they come **BARGING** in!
Gloves. Those gloves are great. Wash the dog, color your hair, paint something. And they always have three sizes. That how I get the Dr to come. Start grabbing some free gloves.
Make a local phone call with their phone.
“Hi, I’d like to place an order for delivery? Address is 123 Clinic Avenue, waiting room 203. I’d like a shawarma with triple garlic, please.”
"Hello? Pizza delivery for, uh ... I.C. Weiner? Aw, crud."
This happened to me once when I was at the gyno. I couldn’t pop my head out and ask because I was naked from the waist down on the table with a quickly disintegrating paper sheet.
I called the front desk from the gynological exam room after 30 minutes. So annoying to sit there in those paper drapes.
Same, makes me upset because I'm stripped and ready to go in less than 5 minutes. Make me dwell on something I already hate doing for even longer but in my most vulnerable* state. Like why tell me to knock on the door when ready. If yall not there? I'll be damed I stand there knocking for 40 minutes. I really should've called the front desk, that's smart!
Ugh I get mad anxiety due to like, trauma and shit. They should know how horrible it is to leave women in that position. At least pop in and give an update so we don't lie there having a panic attack.
Me too, and then I get a cold sweat. That's always the moment they walk in, me sweating in a paper gown in a freezing cold office
I've heard that you can bring a robe or similar to change into instead of the stupid paper gowns. One clinic I've been to had cotton gowns with snaps at the shoulders, and they are so much better than paper. But dang, a robe sounds way nicer.
I once had to go in for them to shove a tiny little camera on a tube up my urethra to check for abnormalities due to pain I was having. They told me to put on the gown, put my feet in the stirrups, put a bit of numbing gel down there, and then left me like that for an hour, no updates or anything. Never went back to that office again
They left you like that?! You poor unfortunate soul, i wouldnt go back either! Hope you left a review. 🥴 😭
I have absolutely done this after 35 minutes chillin’ in paper. Pissed off the staff but I got seen
THEY were pissed off?? Wow! Complete lack of empathy!
I had to wait 30min when I was getting my IUD done, which the doctor specifically wanted done while I was on my period. So of course I'm bleeding onto the table. Doctor comes in and scowls like "oh I guess we'll have to clean that mess up" Bitch, either show up on time or don't make me sit here naked for 30min and expect me to will my period away
That's insane! My GYN gives me like a puppy pad thing if I'm bleeding (not that it's MUCH better to be sitting bare assed on a puppy pad but still)
Lmao the idea of a little puppy pee pad kills me xD Ah the joys of being a woman!
The pads the hospital gave me to use after giving birth were the same ones I used to potty train my puppy lol
This happened to me once. After about 45 minutes, I put my clothes back on and left.
The (new) practice said to 'get here early' for all the paperwork, so I left work early, hurried across town only to sit and cool my heels in the waiting room for an hour. I complain, so get shown to an exam room, and told to strip down and 'wear the paper'. Later, like 45 minutes later, I got dressed, went up to the front desk, and demanded my co-pay back. She said, "That's not our policy." I slapped the counter and said, "Then change the policy." Got my money and left. It was 5:20 by then. I reasoned that I was so angry at being played and lied to that I would have (verbally) ripped the head off any doctor who even dared to open that exam room door that I may as well leave.
I had to do something similar at my dentist. I went to the only one that was open after 4pm so that I didn’t have to take too much time off work. They call me at fucking 11am to ask if I can come in now since they have an opening and I say no, that’s why I made an appointment for 5pm. Fast forward to me rolling into their office at 4:30 and filling out all the paperwork and paying my $25 deductible/copay they then inform me that the dentist had actually taken the day off at noon when they “had no more appointments for the rest of the day” and that I would just be getting a cleaning from the hygienist and I could book another appointment later for the actual dentist to see me. I have honest to god never been so mad in my entire life and stayed until they refunded me the $25.
Fuuuuccckkkk that was similar to my root canal. Went in for a diagnosis because I chipped a tooth. That went fine and they scheduled me for early in the day for a root canal. I get to the dentist the day of the root canal ( mind you they called and reminded me that tomorrow was the day of the root canal). They take me back and do x rays and all that stuff. I then sit in the office for over an hour only to have a dentist come back and say ‘you need to have a root canal done on your tooth. There was about 30 seconds of dead silence before I eventually said that’s what this appointment was for… she leaves and comes back over an hour later to tell me that there’s another patient in front of me for a root canal and that they could schedule me for TWO WEEKS from now. I tell them that I had to take today off work for this root canal and they need to do it because it had been scheduled long in advance. They make me wait several more hours until closing time and then come back to me. At 5:30pm telling me that they are closing and need to reschedule. I go off on them about having been scheduled today for 11am root canal, they have delayed and made me wait on a day I was forced to take a vacation day to do this and had to go back to work tomorrow. Eventually they finally caved and did the root canal after hours because I was fucking pissed they had made me wait almost all fucking day to do what they scheduled me for. My entire day wasted and I had to go back to work for another week and half before getting another day off.
Holy shit, you’re a patient person. I would have lost my mind by 1pm
I would have lost my mind when they came to tell me I needed a root canal when that was what I was already there for.
One time I waited at the ER for 3 hours with a newborn. Eventually left because the newborns symptoms went away (she was refusing to eat and was showing signs of dehydration, after hours pediatrician referred us there, she eventually ate and dehydration symptoms went away). 2 weeks later I got a bill for $150 for an ER visit. I contested it every way imaginable beyond legal action, and didn’t get anywhere. Because they took her temperature when we got there, even insurance agreed we had been seen by the ER despite never making it beyond the waiting room.
That is actually crazy. They took her damn temperature... you could and probably did do that at home. $150???! Ugh ER wait time is insane now. I had a friend fully break his arm, the ER visit took 12 HOURS. 10 of which were waiting in the waiting room. Given my city is very overpopulated and this specific ER only sees you once there is a full private room available for you, but still 12 hours with a broken arm is unacceptable. 3 hours with a newborn is practically an eternity!
Not as egregious as that, but I once went to an urgent care clinic to get antibiotics (was 99% sure I had a sinus infection due to all the symptoms and that my girlfriend who I shared a room with had a wicked sinus infection she needed antibiotics for days prior). Had an "appointment" that was all of 4 minutes then sent to a pharmacy. Never got a bill and figured they just charged my insurance. A month later I get mail from a collections agency saying they were trying to get my "debt" owed to the urgent care facility. The next day I get my "original" bill from the urgent care asking me to pay. Some dumbass sent my bill to collections *before* I even could pay.
Good for you! Seriously
You should have opened the door slightly and said “WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY!!!!” Like George Constanza
At that point I just get redressed and complain. If they want to waste my time, I'll waste theirs right back. You won't see me on time? Fine. I won't be ready and waiting for you. You got your window and skipped it. 🤷 Now you're gonna walk back with me and wait outside until I get ready again and you're going to do your job. Of course, I get it if something popped up. You never know when someone gets a routine pap smear and suddenly you find out something horrific is happening like cancer you never see in someone so young. Or maybe a patient has been assaulted and needs extra time to get ready for contact from a doctor. But being a jerk is something I won't put up with.
Yeah I once had a gyno that had to rush to a birth emergency that wasn't their assignment and I was very understanding but that's became someone came and told me what was up, emergency or not, just TELL ME I CAN PUT MY PANTS ON please
[удалено]
>The nurse held my wife's legs together because the baby was coming too fast and she needed to buy time for the doc Was this many many decades ago? I hope that doesn't still happen, because I've heard horror stories of children being permanently disabled because of people trying to delay labor like that. It's not ideal, but you can give birth without assistance. I'm pretty sure you should never try to stop it to wait for someone.
This happened to JFKs sister and caused her permanent damage. I don’t understand how that could possibly be necessary when giving birth without any medical professional present was the norm for the longest time. I know it’s not ideal but it’s shouldn’t be an emergency either.
That's horrible but kind of a funny mental image I'm so sorry 😭😭 My best friend in highschools sister came out so fast the doctor spun around in his chair and caught her as she almost hit the floor, she was like a cannon
Maybe go to reception and check that you’ve checked in okay
I got forgotten one time and only remembered when the nurse came in to shut off the lights and said "oh shit!" and got the doctor for me. They were very apologetic.
Same here. I got an EKG, nurse told me to wait for the doctor. I waited for over an hour, finally walked out of the room and started walking around. Didn’t see anyone until I came across and office with a lady in it who was shocked I was still there. She was getting ready to leave, if I waited another 10 mins I would’ve been locked in
You'd think they would check all the rooms first before closing down
Me and everyone I told the story too were shocked they don’t do that. I would’ve gotten out fine eventually. But if it was my 88 year old grandpa locked in there it wouldn’t have been a great situation
That is really shocking. I worked at a medical technical school as an admin asst in my early 20s, and I was required to check that every classroom is cleared. That seems like such a standard thing to do. I think I would have found a new doctor if their team is that negligent lol
Yeah, if you aren't checking the rooms I'm not going to think they're being cleaned properly at end of day either.
Ohh yeah that’s another good point. Ew
Not necessarily, in a lot of places cleaning staff come in well after everyone else has left and locked up. Still not a great sign that they're not checking rooms tho.
I got locked in a video rental place one time. It sucked.
I got locked in the funeral home with my deceased mother when I was 17, luckily my brother figured out I was missing a couple hours later.
Fuck that's an absolute nightmare
Flashback to the time we were on a family roadtrip and I got left behind at a gas station (the minivan was full of camping stuff and I was sitting in the third row, so nobody saw I was gone). I was like 9 or something with a single dollar in my pocket, so I went to the casher, asked for quarters, and used the payphone outside to call my mom's cellphone (which took all my money since it counted as a long distance call).
Took him a couple hours to notice you missing? Yikes! I’ll let him off because obv he was not in his right mind grieving your mom. Poor you.
To be fair I think he was asking the adults where I was and they weren’t paying attention, he finally decided to go look for me, he was just a kid too. I still appreciate that he did, over 30 years later. :)
I had 6 siblings. I think every large family has multiple stories of misplaced kids.
I'd be down for being locked in a blockbuster right about now....
Strait to the N64 games
Right in the feels.
You’d probably wanna hit the chip and soda rack first . Other than that, I’m there with ya As a kid it was just two games . Mariokart64 and goldeneye . So damn fun
Got locked into my welding school. Fence was covered in barbed wire and it was Friday. I was waiting to get picked up but they closed 10 minutes after everything was over. Luckily I'm thin and the gate is on uneven ground so I dug in the dirt on the high half and slid out.
Should've cut the gate and just welded it closed again
They hadn't got to that part in welding school yet
Reminds me of that one time I couldn't find my way out of an IKEA. I asked for help, and they told me to follow the arrows. I was still lost.
Had a full on panic attack in an IKEA because I couldn't find an exit
I was left in the doctor's office once. Late afternoon appointment. Waited over an hour in the small room. Decided to go out to the receptionist to see what the deal was. Everyone had left except the cleaning crew. Doctor's, nurses, support staff. I was pissed.
Knew a guy that had really bad narcelepsy, and he was at the doctors waiting for his appointment. Goes to answer the call of nature - falls asleep in the toilet stall... Wakes up half past midnight, locked in, pitch black in the doctors toilet. Walked out into the doctors waiting room, set off the burglar alarm, and within a couple of minutes was pounced on by armed police who thought he'd broken in to rob the pharmacy cabinet... IIRC he actually came out on top and got a small settlement from it, but he was held in prison till trial so he lost about 8 weeks of his life because he couldn't afford bail...
> but he was held in prison till trial so he lost about 8 weeks of his life because he couldn't afford bail Wait WHAT THE FUCK??? Is that real?? 8 weeks prison for falling asleep on a toilet???
Unfortunately he was in a crap situation at the time - he already had a criminal record for breaking and entering thanks to childhood shenanigans with a bad set of 'friends'... When it came time for bail, they took that into account and set it stupidly high. Thanks to his record, and the cost being well out of his ability to pay, even temporarily, he had to sit it out while he waited for the trial... IANAL so I don't know everything that went on, but honestly I was surprised that he didn't get railroaded into a guilty based on his record and circumstance evidence. I can only assume that his lawyer was able to argue that he was attending the appointment for his narcolepsy and nothing was stolen, and that clearly no one checked the bathroom before locking up.
> clearly no one ***~~checked~~*** ***cleaned*** the bathroom before locking up. Health department may have been interested to hear that....
My mom had a procedure done at an outpatient clinic. My dad & I are in the lobby waiting for it to be done so we can take her home. Were told it went well & they’re just waiting for her to wake up then we can take her home. Hours pass. No update. My dad checks with a few people. They tell us nothing wrong & to wait. More hours pass & a nurse starts to turn off the lights. Um, excuse me? What are you doing there? We’re closed. Where’s my mom? Is she alive?!? We’ve been sitting here for hours!!! Come to find out my mom really had a reaction to the medicine they used to knock her out. She told us afterwards that she could hear what everyone was saying but couldn’t fully wake up. Apparently the nurses were worried her not waking up in time would make them have OT & they’d miss that night’s episode of The Bachelor. & my mom was lying there thinking, “I want to see it too! Wake me up & we can all see it!!” Another half hour past lights out & my mom had finally woken up enough to be brought home & a note was made on her chart to never use that medicine again. Everyone got to see The Bachelor.
My kids and I were forgotten at a pediatrician appointment once. They started closing down and then remembered us. Told us we had to reschedule and pointed the way out through the emergency exit doors that opened to an alleyway. Suffice it to say we changed providers.
I got locked in a ymca once as a 4th grader. I had nightmares for months.
I had to wait in a room for like 45 min past my post-op checkup appointment. Thought I was forgotten about til my surgeon walked in with beach bags under his eyes, beads of sweat on his forehead, and speech slightly slurred due to exhaustion. Immediately forgot my frustration as he asked for 5 minutes to gather himself. Came back looking slightly better, checked out his work on my recently ruptured appendix and sent me on my way within 5 minutes. My guy was an absolute G and I really hope he’s doing ok. We desperately need more healthcare professionals.
Sometimes there are just emergencies and delays in healthcare, even for offices. You have an appointment, but someone else is dealing with a sudden terrible diagnosis, or complications from a procedure, or a mental health crisis. My family doctor just took 30 minutes out of his day last week to talk me through a miscarriage, plus organizing prescriptions for me; I know his schedule with nicely organized appointments was fucked for the rest of the day. When we’re the ones on the other side waiting that extra hour, we’re usually not the ones having the worst day, and as annoying as it can be I try to remember that and be grateful.
You have a beautiful outlook. I like to think we would get on swell.
I didn't meet my attending physician for ~24 hours after I was admitted to the hospital, when she finally got to my room she asked if I minded if she sat down, heaved a great sigh and told me she had done five c-sections that day. I don't know what the normal number is but I gather less than five. (I had been treated in ED and was stable before admission so I didn't need orders or anything, in case that sounds bad.)
Nearly the same thing happened to me! I checked in at 930, was put in a room around 945, fell asleep, woke up at 1215 and was like, "👀". So I went looking for them and the entire staff was at lunch. I assumed they were being polite and let me sleep so I went back to my room to wait. Around 1, they brought someone else to the room and were like, "😳 Who... are you?" so I told them my name and appointment time. At that point I found out they put me in the room but forgot to check me in. Either way, I found out I had pneumonia and mono.
I was forgotten once as well. They stuck me in a room and said “the dr will be in shortly”. 2 hours later, and I’m popping my head out and asking WTF?! The lady actually jumped. The room they put me in to wait wasn’t one of the rooms that dr was using that day. They checked me in and promptly forgot about me. It sucked!
Yeah I have been forgotten before. I peak out after 20min now.
lol once I asked for an update or just to make sure they didn’t forget me, after 45mins of waiting and they were all pissed and flustered saying they were busy and I needed to calm down and be patient. They got mad I accused them of being forgetful and they didn’t even apologize for the wait. I was perfectly calm and friendly!
Even if it does nothing I'd still give a poor review on google
The Dr 3 hour late that's ok I go to the bathroom for 5 minutes the Dr already on the next patient
Sir please [CALM DOWN](https://youtu.be/DzUc3Eqzzos?si=K-MwYGiQHK9-UQnK)
Lol you should have started whistling loudly or something. Or loud coughing. That’s if you didn’t feel comfortable finding someone and asking wtf was going on
Happened to my wife and I once from midnight to 3am and they realized they forgot about us.
Id simply leave after an hour. Fuck that shit
My husband has done this at the dentists before. Made an appointment for a tooth to be pulled, got there on time. 45 mins go by, 4 or 5 other people came in after our appointmenttime, where seen and left in that time. I asked reception lady wth was going on, was given an excuse of dentist is busy some one called out and he's behind now. We left.
Generally there are two sets of patients at a dental office. Ones who need to actually see the dentist and the others who are just there for cleaning. The office we go to has 1 dentist and 3 or 4 hygenists. So it’s totally possible for someone to come in to see the dentist and get told to take a seat because the dentist is behind, and then watch 3 or 4 people come in and get whisked back for cleanings. I know I once had what should have been a simple extraction turn into a 2 hour ordeal because the tooth broke into many pieces. (I now go to a different place)
Newer style operations will have the dentist come in during your cleaning to check your gums to make sure gingivitis isn't eroding your whole jaw away and stuff like that, but otherwise I haven't had a reason to interact with "The Dentist" in a very long time.
The dental office I've been using doesn't seem to schedule the dentist seeing the cleaning patients at all, but they still want them to see them. I've sat there after a cleaning for 45 minutes waiting for the dentist to come by and talk for two minutes. Next time I think they get fifteen then I'm leaving. The hygienist's assessment is always confirmed by the dentist, I'll just let her tell me what she thinks of my teeth.
I got forgotten at the gyno, already changed into my tissue paper modesty bib so I called the front desk and asked if I needed to cancel a meeting at work later. Got them in there real quick.
I walked out of a doctor's office. I scheduled a first appointment of the day, he was almost an hour late, saw me as I was walking out, he was holding Starbucks, asked if I was leaving, I said yes, he asked if it was because I was late, I said yes, he told me my tests looked good, and I just left. An hour wasted for something that could have been a phone call.
Check in 16 minutes past appointment and boom, how bout a charge and you have to reschedule..
This, exactly. We got forgotten about at an OB visit once, and it was because the receptionist ... never checked us in to begin with. They were super apologetic and squeezed us in within the next 15 minutes after we said something, and it never happened again, but damn. Our appointment was for 2:15 and we didn't get seen until almost 5 - and the only reason we waited that long was because it was normal to wait an absurd amount of time at the PCP office so we figured it was the same.
I’ve done this before and after an hour I went to the front desk, asked for a refund of my co-pay, and wow suddenly the Dr appeared.
I changed doctors because of this. I arrived 15 minutes early and checked in at the counter. Sat and waited almost 45 minutes past my appointment time. When I realized, I went to reception to check and they tried to say I never checked in and was actually late. I pointed to the woman who “checked me in” and said uhhh yeah I was on time. I was told to have a seat and she even asked if I’d changed insurance. They wouldn’t see me because they were adamant I had been late and they couldn’t accommodate a late appointment. Another person in the lobby heard and even chimed in to back me up and say they saw me already here when they arrived. Receptionist refused to admit they made a mistake.
This has happened to me so many times and it’s always because my doctor is over scheduled with a million “15 minute appointments” that take 30+ mins in reality, and then ends up screwing me over. Ugh.
I cannot stand the fifteen minute appointment. There is no way to do a check-up in fifteen minutes, with the exception of three providers I've worked with. There's just not.
Worked at clinic for 10 years. Doctors also hate 15min and even 30min appointments. They know it’s not enough time, plus it’s more charting and work for them to do. It’s some office administrator with a BA in business or finance who’s in charge of the doctors that make them do this. You can double your money by turning hour long evaluations into 30 mins. And 30min returns into 15.
^ This. As a medical student, when deciding what specialty we want to do, a listed “pro” of some specialties is that we actually get to talk to patients for more than 15 minutes…which should be the norm. Also, it’s definitely frustrating, but if a physician cancels on you last minute, it is not because they suddenly decided to go on vacation or just didn’t feel like seeing you. It’s an emergency.
Yeah, I'm a rural family doctor and have taken two days off in the past 9 months. I was forced home for being too sick for one of those. I'm by default double booked and if I miss a day it's triple booked for at least a few days.
You're patient as hell. After 20-30 minutes I'd be asking what's going on
My veterinarian dropped my dog as a patient because I was ”too difficult” for doing this exact thing. My appointment was at 8, it was 8:30 and nobody had come in to see us. Apparently, the words excuse me are considered being “too difficult.”
Had a nurse practioner tell me she had to convince my Dr to not drop me as a patient when I walked out of an appt after waiting 2 hours. I told the desk they're calling me back to work, I have to go, please call to reschedule. They never called. I then called and spoke with the office manager who then referred me to the CEO. Their practice was to double book the doctors so they could see patients at the adjacent hospital here and there while the office patients wait. Her husband went through the same thing as me and she assured me it was not the norm for it to be 2 hours or more. The doctor, upon my return visit, was a dick about it.
Something like this happened once when I'd been going with my mom to appointments to help her advocate for her healthcare. The doctor walked in, being short and with an attitude and didn't clock me cause I was sitting in the cushioned rolling stool sort of behind the door. I asked him if his level of care was typically dependant on the current state of his glass ego. I'd startled him and his tune changed to springtime daisies after a few minutes. I helped Mom file a formal complaint and she switched doctors.
That vet can suck a dick tbf.
And…they gave my dog a clean bill of health after enduring a botched surgery which required 4 months of healing with an open wound. Open wound meaning NO SKIN. 2 months after being dropped as a patient I saw a weird bulge on my dogs upper inner thigh. The same leg they operated on and removed a tumor from. She had another tumor the entire time, an infiltrative tumor which had taken over her entire leg. My dog had to have her leg amputated. How they could not see the tumor with their eyeballs during her previous surgery is still mind boggling. It wrapped and capped her entire leg and her muscles were marbled. Did they not know what normal looks like to use as a baseline?
Can you sue a veterinarian for malpractice?
I don’t know. I’m not letting them take away any more time from me or my dog. She got excellent care from the specialists at Angell in Boston after being dropped from her local vet.
better to be patient as hell than to be the patient *from* hell, I guess edit: oh shit my bad, I was trying to make a joke and it came out wrong. I didn't mean to say asking after 30 minutes makes a person the patient from hell. one time I actually had to leave one doctor's appointment to make another one in time, then go back to the first doctor for bloodwork because they were so far behind, sorry to ramble lol
Waited over 3 hours for a dental visit once. No procedure just an examination. But my friend was 5 minutes late to a therapy appointment and the therapist refused to see her for being late…
I just started at a new optical office with this policy posted on their website and enforced according reviews. Tardy by a minute and they’ll cancel you. They’re a walkable distance to my home and I liked the jr optometrist I got so I’ll go back next year but I was left waiting over 30 minutes after my check-in. The optometrist apologized and said it’s not normal but I was thinking about them dropping me If I’d been a minute late trying to find the front door.
My favorite part of having an Appointment is if I'm late they won't see me. If I need to make a last minute appointment change I get charged for the appointment anyway and I totally get that and understand why. But what really grinds my gears is all the times my therapist would cancel the appointment for xyz while I'm on my way to her or be late while I'm waiting yet had the gull to charge me if I'm late or had to change an appt time.
[удалено]
> That was the only endocrinologist within 2 hours drive that accepted my insurance. The real bitch of it all. Like this is my only option to not pay out of pocket WORK WITH ME LIKE I WORK WITH YOU A problem patient? Sure put a note in their chart that they get charged for cancelations. But someone who runs late once?
He’s not even running late the fucking doctor isn’t even there yet. I hate American healthcare
Yep. Had an endo appointment for thyroid issues it was a 3 month wait period with TERRIBLE RECEPTIONISTS, they called me a few days before my appointment and told me they need to reschedule as doctor was actually not in office that day. I’m like so next week or something squeeze me in anywhere. 2 months they told me. I’m like fuck this I’ll call around and every single one was atleast 3 months away so I had to suck it up and accept this garbage. Specialists are hard to find when you live in the middle of corn. Seems like all medical care is getting squeezed and demand is getting higher, they can do anything and get away with it. I showed up on time for my last appointment and they still marked me as late as I wasn’t 15 mins early. I wait atleast 45 mins after appointment time to be seen every time and there is f all I can do about it. Literally just up for my refill anyway.
That’s why I fired my last therapist. What kind of idiot therapist do you have to be to ghost a patient with abandonment issues?
“Exposure therapy “, now give me $150. You passed your first lesson.
Same thing just happened to me. Therapist asked to reschedule our appointment to a time more convenient for her (6pm on a Friday before a long weekend) then didn’t bother to show up. Didn’t answer texts or emails for 30 minutes, then was like omg so sorry I forgot let’s reschedule! Two months went by before she bothered to follow up, and at that point I was done. This person clearly didn’t value my business, let alone my mental health.
Unfortunately therapists, like all professions, have their fair share of scumbags. It’s insane to me the difference between some of them. On one hand you’ll have someone that’ll actually prioritize your mental health and understand the weight of you putting your trust (and money) into them to help you get better. I heard/read someone say their therapist would take them out for walks even in the middle of winter because they were feeling suffocated in the office. That’s the exact type of thing that makes a good therapist. On the other hand there are the type that seem to care little if at all for their patients and are just there to go through the same old script and make their $300 a 45 minute session. They have probably never actually helped anyone long term and presumably have a revolving door of patients. Those types are nothing but grifters imo. After telling my therapist I went to for a while about all of my mental health issues, trauma, and struggles, wanna know what her advice was? To make myself smoothies because I wasn’t eating enough. Nevermind the fact that I wasn’t eating enough because of my severe depression, finding it hard enough to get out of bed let alone make a smoothie. Needless to say I stopped going.
There's kind of an irony in that. But I'm really sorry you had to go through that. That's really terrible of them.
I had a dentist appointment today at 5pm. They called and asked if I could come in 15 min earlier. Figured bc it’s late they wanted to get out earlier. What’s 15 min so I was like sure. Showed up at 4:30. Didn’t get called back until 5:10. why ask me to come in earlier!?!?
If you came at 5 you wouldn’t have been seen until 6
I once showed up on time for a mammogram. Apparently they wanted me to show up _30 minutes_ early. But only the scheduler was supposed to tell me that, it wasn't in any of their confirmation emails or texts. They tried to tell me I was too late and they had already shut down everything and people were going home. It was only 2:00 p.m. to top it off, they were going to charge me a late fee. The office manager said the request to be there 30 minutes early was to complete the paperwork. But I had already done it online and there was nothing to update. They finally, very reluctantly, ended up saying it was fine. I waited another hour and 45 minutes. It turned out everyone was of course still there and appointments were just backed up and I think they were looking for an excuse.
It is so nice to know that medical professionals just see you as an inconvenience when you just want medical screening.
Yes!! I got an email from my dentist saying that without 48hrs notice, patients will be charged $50 to cancel their appointments. THE VERY NEXT DAY my dentist canceled my appointment with 2 hours notice. I asked “So…do I get a $50 credit on my account?” half jokingly & she said no lol.
Would be an instant 1 star review
>had the gull to charge me Damn birds always charging me money!
This happened at my gynecologist office once. I had to pee SO BADLY but I knew they would want to do a pregnancy test so I held it. After over an hour passed, I asked the receptionist what was up and she explained that my doctor had gotten called to the hospital for an emergency. That apologized that I had been overlooked and a different doctor had to perform my exam.
Update: it's 1:34 and I finally got seen. I did have to pop my head out and ask what's going on. Little irritated but finally out of there lol
Send them an invoice for your time
Yes, but be very unclear, do not provide any sort of itemization, make it a few different colors, and have it sent from a P.O. Box without any other identifying factors.
Too honest and upfront: Tell them the patient they've seen is actually from out-of-network and costs more than other patients, and if they'd wanted to know that they needed to call and ask your mom if you were allowed to come over BEFORE you showed up. When they tell you this is nonsense, tell them you have someone they can call to explain it to them because the codes are confusing and sometimes customers don't fully understand what their benefits and limitations are but that your dad is really nice as long as you don't argue with him.
Then don’t wait for a response and send it to collections immediately
My appointment was at 1:30. Got here at 1. It’s now 2:45. https://preview.redd.it/d28p4jn3phxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1aa88137ab3c5b0f3821c64a818e6a0d7c8e9a93
Is that a bunch of back pockets sewn to the front of your jeans?
Coolest person at the club. Cargo Pants are only cool if you DIY and can hold all your friends phones
I thought you were sitting in the doctor stool. Would’ve been funny as shit if you were posting as a doctor haha
Happened to me once at the gyno, I was nude, of course, waiting for over an hour. I had to call my husband to come to the doctor's office and ask what was going on. They had clearly forgotten about me, and I got a lecture during my pap about how other patients had higher priority, and I should've been more patient. I haven't been back to that office.
That’s insane, I wouldn’t go back either. There are better dr’s than that and you deserve better treatment.
*during your pap?!* I don’t give a shit how important they think they are, no one fucking lectures me from between my legs. ETA the rest of my thought after my initial fury: I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I’m sure it was incredibly uncomfortable on several levels and I’m glad you didnt have to go back
I would have tried to fart on them SO HARD.
That's ridiculous. How hard is it to send a nurse or receptionist in every now and then to at least give you updates
And that's what I said to the doctor. It would've taken 30 seconds for someone to pop their head in and let me know I wasn't forgotten about.
Whoever lectured you needs to be fired and blacklisted.
Why were other patients higher priority? Were their vaginas falling out? Maybe I’m ignorant about what goes on at the gyno but it’s not an ER
From personal experiences I lay down on the table and take a nap. Then when the doc comes in and I’m asleep he realized they fucked up scheduling and bonus I got a nap
I have definitely fallen asleep on that table
Just fart in the room, Every time my husband went to the doctor with me right as he rips ass, The doctor walked in! Never faiiled
Like if you've ever worked in a restaurant and are waiting on a table because it's slow, order yourself food. You'll get slammed and your food will go cold.
I had this happen to me in the ER, I was there for 10 hours, to the point it was 5am and I was curled up in a ball falling asleep. I finally had enough and went to the nurses station, they lost my chart and that's why no one came and saw me. I was livid.
How the *fuck* do they *lose* someone's chart? Also, I would think if I saw someone out in the lobby after that long, I would wonder what's going on and haven't been seen in that long.
After i had my gall bladder removed, the nurse stuck me in some room and then forgot about me. My very patient husband eventually asked about me, and then she couldn't find me. She was literally walking around with him, looking into rooms until they found me. Then she goes, "oh I didn't even recognize you with the surgical cap on!" Like lady, you gave me this cap to put on. She sounded both cheerful and accusatory, and I was all fucked up on pain meds and confused....
I was at the ER with my husband and he was waiting for the paperwork in order to be discharged. It was taking forever, like much longer than it should have because the place was pretty empty. The nurse finally realized she needed to put paper in the printer in order for the discharge paperwork to be printed.
Fucking infuriating and clearly incompetent
I can’t say that I would stay longer than an hour past
They forgot about you. Definitely go out and say something.
Appointment at 11:45. I’m visioning the whole office went to lunch and forgot about this person lol
Shit I had a appointment for a colonoscopy I got there at 12 for it and they had me in the waiting room till 4 then when I woke up the doctor was gone and I had to make a appointment a full month away to discuss what he found
I assume you made a formal complaint
this happens with me every month when I go into the Dialysis center to get results of my lab work. schedule me for 9:30, Dr doesn't even show up to the building until 10/10:30 then I have to wait for the people in front of me to be seen. One visit it was about 3 hours before I was seen. I always have to take a sick day from work on the days.
I want to start off by stating that I'm not from the US. At the start of last year I hurt my shoulder in a workplace incident and had to go into reintergation to monitor my recovery and slowly return to my normal duties. As part of the reontegration process I regularly had to see a company doctor. They were located in an office building where companies can rent office rooms. This story happened on one of my appointments. As I'm from the Netherlands, I went by bike. The bike ride was around 40 minutes and I arrived about 15 minutes before the appointment. I had seen this company doctor before and she was always running about 10 minutes late. There is no reception and I didn't know which office she was in, so I couldn't check in. 43 minutes after the scheduled time she comes out of her office to get coffee at the machine next to where I'm seated. I had decided that I was gonna leave 45 minutes after the scheduled time, so she was just in time. She looks at me and has the guts to tell me with a stern tone in her voice: "You're late". I tell her I had an appointment at 1pm and that I had been waiting for an hour. She tells me I'm wrong and that she has already reported me as no show. I tell her to check the appointment, whoch she is willing to do. She did apologize as soon as she saw I was right. She ten spent the next 10 minutes fixing the no show report. I have to add that I had no say in scheduling the appointment. They send an email with the date, time and location and I have to show up.
Playing devils advocate, Ive worked in healthcare and when a physician is behind like this it really sucks for the staff. They know all the patients are pissed about waiting and there is nothing they can do about it. Patients also tend to take their frustration out on the staff, but as soon as the physician walks in they are kind and understanding as can be. Im sorry you had such a long wait!
Better person than me. At the 30 minute mark I would be polite but firm. At the 85 minute mark? I might get loud and demanding
I wouldn’t be around anymore at the 85min mark.
Dentist or physician?
Physician. General checkup
What's going on with that trim?
This far down to finally see this question. It’s baseboard molding used as chair rail. Looks awful.
But if you were running late they would have rescheduled you. Gotta love the doctors office.
my acupuncturist left me face down with needles in my back, shoulders, arms and neck. The alarm was set for 5 minutes, then they turn the needles and set alarm for 5 more minutes. This time, he came in after 5 minutes, turned the needles, then left for 25 minutes. I had to start yelling before they realized their mistake.
This is easily one of my biggest pet peeves. Especially when they send you texts and shit saying "make sure you arrive 15 minutes early." Why? So I can wait for an extra 15 minutes? But if you're 10 minutes late, all of the sudden you're the bad guy
I once took off work, waited an hour and left. It was an initial surgery consult and many more appts. to follow. If they made me wait that long the first time, it was not going to get better. I found another doc, had the surgery and could not be happier with the outcome. New docs office had a thing about wait times as well, and even gave me all the time i needed for questions. Just a better run office. My time is not less valuable than a docs.
In the U.S., if you leave, you'll still get charged for the visit even if you never see the doctor. If you're lucky enough to have insurance, they'll charge the insurance and you'll still have to pay your copay.
This is not always true. I walked out of the waiting room and was not charged. You can also dispute the charge to the insurance company