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Dr. Shapiro completed his undergraduate education at UC San Diego, earning a B.S. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, and a B.A. in Political Science. He furthered his education at UCLA where he earned a Masters Degree in Public…
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Waiting at the Doctor's Office: A Physician's Perspective
Posted in DailyStrength M... by Dr. Jeremy F. Shapiro on Jul 27, 2011
Between emails and regular mail, I am inundated with medically related information on a daily (even hourly) basis. And while I must admit I don’t have enough time to read each and every article, I do enjoying skimming the titles just to see if anything intrigues me.
And one that caught my eye the other day revolved around patients billing their doctors for being late.
Now I’m sure my colleagues would prefer me not bringing this topic up in fear of me furthering any grassroots movement on behalf of patients, but since this is something I do think about on a daily basis, I’d love to share my thoughts on running late with my patients and their families.
You see, I do believe everyone’s time is valuable. Just because I am a doctor doesn’t give me the right to run an hour behind schedule and not feel bad about it. But does anyone really think doctors enjoy getting behind in their day?
Take, for instance, my specific profession where newborns need appointments at the last minute (for obvious reasons, one just can’t schedule these visit a month in advance), “emergency” walk-ins occur sometimes on a daily basis, or what was scheduled as a routine ill visit (e.g. cold symptoms x 3 days) actually evolves into the “and by the way, my son has had on and off chest pain for the past month”.
And as my goal is to answer and have a plan for each and every question that is asked of me, yes, there are some days where I am running behind. So when I walk into a regularly scheduled physical for a 5-year-old and I’m 40 minutes late, how best for me to handle?
Well, firstly, I apologize. No reference is made to why I ran late (although it would be easy enough to share I had to squeeze 2 newborns in back-to-back) as I’m a firm believer that making excuses is not the way to go. But I do recognize running late stuck in a patient room for ¾ of an hour with a child bouncing of the walls is not always an ideal thing.
Now most patients and their families are comfortable with a sincere apology realizing they also will get my full attention during their child’s visit…answering all questions no matter how long it takes.
For those who remain upset, well, I typically hope by the time they sit down at the end of the day, they realize that running late was not my goal of the day.
I am a patient from time to time as well. And waiting any extended period of time for my visit to begin is annoying to say the least. But the last thing I want my doctor to do is run so fast from room to room in order to maintain his schedule that I feel my questions have not been answered and my care has been compromised.
Dr. Jeremy
And one that caught my eye the other day revolved around patients billing their doctors for being late.
Now I’m sure my colleagues would prefer me not bringing this topic up in fear of me furthering any grassroots movement on behalf of patients, but since this is something I do think about on a daily basis, I’d love to share my thoughts on running late with my patients and their families.
You see, I do believe everyone’s time is valuable. Just because I am a doctor doesn’t give me the right to run an hour behind schedule and not feel bad about it. But does anyone really think doctors enjoy getting behind in their day?
Take, for instance, my specific profession where newborns need appointments at the last minute (for obvious reasons, one just can’t schedule these visit a month in advance), “emergency” walk-ins occur sometimes on a daily basis, or what was scheduled as a routine ill visit (e.g. cold symptoms x 3 days) actually evolves into the “and by the way, my son has had on and off chest pain for the past month”.
And as my goal is to answer and have a plan for each and every question that is asked of me, yes, there are some days where I am running behind. So when I walk into a regularly scheduled physical for a 5-year-old and I’m 40 minutes late, how best for me to handle?
Well, firstly, I apologize. No reference is made to why I ran late (although it would be easy enough to share I had to squeeze 2 newborns in back-to-back) as I’m a firm believer that making excuses is not the way to go. But I do recognize running late stuck in a patient room for ¾ of an hour with a child bouncing of the walls is not always an ideal thing.
Now most patients and their families are comfortable with a sincere apology realizing they also will get my full attention during their child’s visit…answering all questions no matter how long it takes.
For those who remain upset, well, I typically hope by the time they sit down at the end of the day, they realize that running late was not my goal of the day.
I am a patient from time to time as well. And waiting any extended period of time for my visit to begin is annoying to say the least. But the last thing I want my doctor to do is run so fast from room to room in order to maintain his schedule that I feel my questions have not been answered and my care has been compromised.
Dr. Jeremy
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i called pdoc today and was told i had till 4pm to check into psych. i called back and begged not to go and my pdoc fit me in the schedule at 1 so i'm waiting in the office right now. i pray i dont have to go into the hospital. i'm so nervous and shaky ri
Posted on 06/30/08 02:02:12 pm
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I've been "cut off" to let me know time is up and they start walking to the door. Their arrogant. No other business would get away with doing that.
Since 2008, the doctors have wanted to remedy MY HEALTH PROBLEMS WITH AN -- ANTI-DEPRESSANT.
IF THEY WOULD SPEND MORE TIME WITH ME TO KNOW AND REALIZE THE (REAL) PROBLEM
He was the most caring, compassionate doctor I ever had. He helped me through a traumatic and difficult time in my life. His knowledge and skills were excellent. The way he ran his schedule reflected all this. Of all the doctors I've seen in my lifetime, this one stands head and shoulders above all the rest.
solid carbide saws and carbide tooling
OR
send me for an MRI scan of my brain, WHAT!!
OR
send me to a neuropsychologist, hell no!!
2 hormones to deal with that happen to be in a malfunctioning range, what's the problem, it's not a science project.
If someone comes in with a cold (virus), do you send them to an ear, nose, throat spiecialist, hell no!
They don't go home and maybe read up on extra material so that when you come in next time -- they will know something!!
can't turn around bcuz their "cushion" is they will collect from -- the medical insurance anyway.
That's their definintion of "cushion"
I HAVE NEVER GOT THE MUCH NEEDED HELP BECUZ -- THEY CUT ME OFF AND WALK OUT.
LIKE I SAID, "THEY CUT ME OFF" AND START WALKING OUT THE DOOR.
I DON'T JUST COME IN TO DISCUSS A COLD.
SINCE BEING STRUCK WITH A DISEASE, I'VE REALLY BEEN EXPOSED TO SEE DOCTORS, UNFORTUNATELY -- OFTEN!!