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Don’t Test Your Patients’ Patience

Why? Because it’s one test that you’re guaranteed to fail

JACK RUNNINGER, O.D.

“What a cranky old so and so,” I said to myself when a cantankerous old goat griped about my not seeing him on time back in 1970.

Fast forward to 2014. I discover that I have a completely different perspective now that I’m the cantankerous old goat, rather than being the doctor.

Recently, I waited over an hour for my appointment with a physician. Then at the two-week checkup, I waited exactly one hour and twelve minutes, and was still cooling my heels in the exam room. So I walked out, went home, and wrote him a letter to explain why I’d never darken his door again.

Another of my physicians was a good friend and an excellent practitioner. But I had a long wait every time I had an appointment with him. Finally when it happened again, I walked out on him. And never returned. I figured if he didn’t respect me and my time any more than that, I’d find someone who did.

Where is she?

Another lady here in town had even more reason to complain:

“When are you going to reopen your office?” a man phoned Dr. C.J. Wyatt at home at 6:30 PM.

“Not until tomorrow morning when the office opens at 8:00,” replied C.J., a trifle disgustedly.

“I just wondered,” said the man, “because I came back to pick up my mother at 5:45 and all the doors to your office were locked.” An office nurse had placed the lady in an exam room at 4:00, and somehow she was overlooked. She was still waiting patiently for him to come in a couple of hours later not realizing he had already gone home, along with the entire office staff.

I was worse

It takes a lot of guts for me to fuss about all this, when I may hold the world’s record for showing up late for a patient’s appointment. The scenario:

“Dr. Runninger will be with you in just a moment,” my assistant told my first patient one Thursday morning as she escorted him to my exam room after completing his preliminary testing. She laid his records on my office desk, knowing that I would come in the back door shortly, pick them up, and proceed to the exam room.

“How long did you say it would take?” asked the gentleman as he returned to the reception desk some 30 minutes later. Unfortunately, I had left for New York early that morning to attend an OptiFair, but had forgotten to tell my office staff I’d be gone until Monday, so they could reschedule appointments.

The silent unsatisfied

Granted, most of your patients are not as crotchety as am I, but even if they don’t complain, they’re still not happy. And it lowers their regard for you.

Recently I heard of another danger in keeping your patients waiting too long:

Dr. Robert Blum of Marietta, Ga. told me about an elderly gentleman who had been waiting a couple of hours for his appointment at a VA Clinic. He got to the point he could “wait” no longer. He stood up and hobbled to a large potted tree in the corner, and proceeded to unzip his pants to relieve himself on the tree. Fortunately, someone intercepted him in time. OM

JACK RUNNINGER, OUR CONSULTING EDITOR, LIVES IN ROME, GA. HE’S ALSO A PAST EDITOR OF OM. CONTACT HIM AT RUNNINGERJ@COMCAST.NET.