I totally understand everyone's point, how ever. My wife is a family practice doctor and I run her office in a small town in Oklahoma. There are allot of factors that go into play on how long a patient waits in the waiting room or exam room. For instance, if a doctor is having to train a new nurse or nurses, if a new receptionist is having to be trained the upfront time could take longer than usual. The doctor has to spend time with drug reps to get samples for his or her patients and to do that, they have to spend sometime with them. Trust me, I would rather my wife be in with patients then spending time with drug reps, because you don't get paid for time with them. One of the biggest issues is when patients are late for their appointment, it through everyone else's time off. Then lets not forget all the paper work that the doctor has to fill out for patients, insurance companies, DME companies and by the way, none of that time spent in her office will she get paid for. The insurance companies expect doctors to jump though hopes just to get reimbursed a couple of bucks. It is getting to the point now that insurance companies wont pay for the medicine that works the best, so now my wife has to spend even more time trying to find a drug that her patients can afford. There are allot of other things that goes along with this but, I don't have all day long to explain. So when you are in the waiting room or exam room think about what I wrote and try to be a little bit more understanding, after all the doctor wouldn't be doing this as a profession if they didn't care about you.
Comment Reply
I totally understand everyone's point, how ever. My wife is a family practice doctor and I run her office in a small town in Oklahoma. There are allot of factors that go into play on how long a patient waits in the waiting room or exam room. For instance, if a doctor is having to train a new nurse or nurses, if a new receptionist is having to be trained the upfront time could take longer than usual. The doctor has to spend time with drug reps to get samples for his or her patients and to do that, they have to spend sometime with them. Trust me, I would rather my wife be in with patients then spending time with drug reps, because you don't get paid for time with them. One of the biggest issues is when patients are late for their appointment, it through everyone else's time off. Then lets not forget all the paper work that the doctor has to fill out for patients, insurance companies, DME companies and by the way, none of that time spent in her office will she get paid for. The insurance companies expect doctors to jump though hopes just to get reimbursed a couple of bucks. It is getting to the point now that insurance companies wont pay for the medicine that works the best, so now my wife has to spend even more time trying to find a drug that her patients can afford. There are allot of other things that goes along with this but, I don't have all day long to explain. So when you are in the waiting room or exam room think about what I wrote and try to be a little bit more understanding, after all the doctor wouldn't be doing this as a profession if they didn't care about you.
March 27, 2009 - 11:57amThis Comment
Reply