Appointments..............

If your like me you've often wondered why and how your Doctor, Dentist, or the like schedules appointments. Does one ever get in to see the Doctor at the scheduled appointment time? You have a 10:00 am appointment and if your like me (very punctual) you arrive at least by 9:45 with the hopes of maybe getting in a bit early. No you never get in a bit early and usually quite a bit later, oh some time back it seemed they'd call you into a room close to your appointment time and you felt you were being seen on time. We all now know this was a ploy just to make you feel your appointment time was being kept, but in reality you ended up sitting in that room upwards to 20 to 30 minutes waiting for the Doctor. Yes, now you know why a Doctor's office needs 5 or 6 examining rooms for one Doctor..............yep to keep us lined up and feeling our appointment is being kept.

It seems now days they try less to worry about getting you into a "inner waiting room" on or near your appointment time and might leave you sit in the main waiting room up to 20 or 30 minutes past your appointment time. But the real kicker is the sign at the front desk and the message left on your phone when they call to remind of your appointment and the importance of being on time and keeping the appointment. Yes the words "There will be a $25 missed appointment charge if you miss your appointment or fail to cancel in a 48 hour period". I show up early, have all my ducks in a row and ready for the Doctor and end up being seen by that Doctor usually right at 30 minutes later than my appointment and they want to charge me $25 is I fail to cancel in 48 hours or arrive late or miss the appointment.........wait a minute!

Now the receptionist (who at my Doctor's office should get another job) has a sign in sheet you must fill out and then take a seat and be called up usually no sooner that your ass hits the chair! She will be sitting their looking at her computer not taking care of a soul and I'm looking at her while I'm filling out this sheet with first name, last name, appointment time (who gives a shit anyway) what time I arrived ( usually very early) and if I have all my insurance cards etc. I keep looking at her waiting for her to say don't both I'll take care of you but know...............I no sooner sit down when she take the sign in sheet blackens out my name and info and calls out "Mike" and maybe two or three of us stand up, what was the sense in that?

Your time is money just like theirs, and I know there are emergencies and the like but you and I both no this is not the norm and that they schedule us too close together and at the end of the day someone may be pushed back until tomorrow. Oh well just another pet peeve, but I love my Doctor and don't mind waiting for him. As we grow older I believe our patience grows with us and I'm just glad I have a doctor to go see.