A Question of Time
http://www.setthestageforsuccess.com/articles/18100/1/A-Question-of-Time/Page1.html
Rejoyce Wilson-Herbert
Rejoyce Wilson-Herbert is the founder of National Information Resource Services (NIRS), an organization committed to educating people on the home care industry. Currently residing in Newport Coast, CA, Rejoyce is the General Manager of MemorialCare Home Caregivers. She is also a nationally recognized advocate for the elderly
and is one of the most highly-sought after speakers in her field. She is a proud mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and continues to work hard and help people realize their own goals.By Rejoyce Wilson-Herbert
Published on 09/5/2008
Ever notice that when you schedule an appointment with a doctor’s
office, you never actually get in at your scheduled time? My unofficial
definition of an appointment means that a specific time is set-aside
for you, by another party, to meet for a purpose. I have always
understood that an appointment allows one to be able to live by a
schedule, and to respect the time that others have set aside for them.
After arriving for my scheduled appointment at four different doctor’s offices, I found myself sitting for at least a half hour passed my scheduled time. It occurred to me at the fourth office that doctor’s appointments aren’t the same as professional appointments. Doctors really have no intention of honoring the appointed time; they just want to make sure they have patients on the books for payment. They know that once you are there, the likelihood that you will leave is very slim.
After arriving for my scheduled appointment at four different doctor’s offices, I found myself sitting for at least a half hour passed my scheduled time. It occurred to me at the fourth office that doctor’s appointments aren’t the same as professional appointments. Doctors really have no intention of honoring the appointed time; they just want to make sure they have patients on the books for payment. They know that once you are there, the likelihood that you will leave is very slim.
Ever notice that when you schedule an appointment with a doctor’s office, you never actually get in at your scheduled time? My unofficial definition of an appointment means that a specific time is set-aside for you, by another party, to meet for a purpose. I have always understood that an appointment allows one to be able to live by a schedule, and to respect the time that others have set aside for them.
After arriving for my scheduled appointment at four different doctor’s offices, I found myself sitting for at least a half hour passed my scheduled time. It occurred to me at the fourth office that doctor’s appointments aren’t the same as professional appointments. Doctors really have no intention of honoring the appointed time; they just want to make sure they have patients on the books for payment. They know that once you are there, the likelihood that you will leave is very slim.
Doctors' offices schedule more than one person for the same time slot, and so your 8:00 a.m. appointment may put you in the company of three or four other people who also have an 8:00 a.m. time slot. As if going to the doctor’s office isn’t stressful enough physicians add insult to injury by making you wait 30 minutes or more before ushering you in for a rushed office visit.
Given the current state of healthcare, most of us will take any appointment that a doctor has available. When you consider that most people are either trying to get to work or get back to work after an appointment, it seems there should be a better way.
The irony of all this is that while I was waiting in the doctor’s office for my 3:30 p.m. appointment, a lady showed up for her 4:00 p.m. appointment, at 4:30 p.m. Mind you I was still waiting to get in one hour later and she told she would not be able to see the doctor because SHE was late for her appointment. What!?!
Apparently the doctor’s time is much more valuable than the patient’s time. That is certainly the sentiment displayed by the front office staff. And if you want to talk to the doctor to see if he shares their sentiment, too bad ... you can’t!
Healthcare is about people and those in this field would do well to consider putting people first. Between the insensitive nature of most front office staff and the complete disregard for a patient’s time by the doctor’s office, it's no wonder our system is in crisis. We are a time-sensitive culture; doctors know this as they try to rush you in and out of their office. I would suggest that as strict as they are on penalties for late or missed appointments, is as strict as they might want to be in keeping their self-established schedule.
Many offices have a policy that states that appointments not canceled twenty-four hours prior to the appointment will be billed at the full office visit cost. I'd like to suggest this go a step further. In consideration of the patients who wait so patiently, let's institute a delay penalty. If the doctor is delayed more than 10 minutes, the patient isn't charged for the appointment. I'm guessing that this won't fly well with the doctors or their staff, but why should they be treated differently than any other profession.
When there is a cost for the lack of respect for a person's time, on either side of the team, people will become more aware of their actions, and their commitments. As my daddy used to say it always gets attention when it hits the old pocketbook.
After arriving for my scheduled appointment at four different doctor’s offices, I found myself sitting for at least a half hour passed my scheduled time. It occurred to me at the fourth office that doctor’s appointments aren’t the same as professional appointments. Doctors really have no intention of honoring the appointed time; they just want to make sure they have patients on the books for payment. They know that once you are there, the likelihood that you will leave is very slim.
Doctors' offices schedule more than one person for the same time slot, and so your 8:00 a.m. appointment may put you in the company of three or four other people who also have an 8:00 a.m. time slot. As if going to the doctor’s office isn’t stressful enough physicians add insult to injury by making you wait 30 minutes or more before ushering you in for a rushed office visit.
Given the current state of healthcare, most of us will take any appointment that a doctor has available. When you consider that most people are either trying to get to work or get back to work after an appointment, it seems there should be a better way.
The irony of all this is that while I was waiting in the doctor’s office for my 3:30 p.m. appointment, a lady showed up for her 4:00 p.m. appointment, at 4:30 p.m. Mind you I was still waiting to get in one hour later and she told she would not be able to see the doctor because SHE was late for her appointment. What!?!
Apparently the doctor’s time is much more valuable than the patient’s time. That is certainly the sentiment displayed by the front office staff. And if you want to talk to the doctor to see if he shares their sentiment, too bad ... you can’t!
Healthcare is about people and those in this field would do well to consider putting people first. Between the insensitive nature of most front office staff and the complete disregard for a patient’s time by the doctor’s office, it's no wonder our system is in crisis. We are a time-sensitive culture; doctors know this as they try to rush you in and out of their office. I would suggest that as strict as they are on penalties for late or missed appointments, is as strict as they might want to be in keeping their self-established schedule.
Many offices have a policy that states that appointments not canceled twenty-four hours prior to the appointment will be billed at the full office visit cost. I'd like to suggest this go a step further. In consideration of the patients who wait so patiently, let's institute a delay penalty. If the doctor is delayed more than 10 minutes, the patient isn't charged for the appointment. I'm guessing that this won't fly well with the doctors or their staff, but why should they be treated differently than any other profession.
When there is a cost for the lack of respect for a person's time, on either side of the team, people will become more aware of their actions, and their commitments. As my daddy used to say it always gets attention when it hits the old pocketbook.