IntoFactories.NET

You’re in the waiting room on a Monday morning, its 20 minutes past your 10:30 a.m. appointment and you’re getting a little testy. You’ve skimmed People magazine and now you’re looking at the floral prints on the walls. The same prints you’ve been forced to look at when you’re on time and your doctor is not. Finally, you decide to tackle the stack of bills you brought along with you so you can feel productive. Ten minutes later, your summoned to an examination room to perform the ritual of getting your weight, checking your blood pressure and pulse and asking what your there for and if there are any changes.

You sit, you pick up another magazine, read an interesting article on “How to have a stress-free morning” and wait impatiently for your doctor. You obsess about what you could be accomplishing instead of sitting around waiting for your doctor to materialize. By the time your doctor breezes in 25 minutes later, you’ve developed a case of “Attitude Problem”. “Hi”, he says and without glancing at you, picks up your file. Looking for any indication in the nurse’s notes that you are fine or at least not dying, you’re quizzed on how you feel and if there are any new symptoms. You barely reply to each question before the next is asked. Your doctor is clearly in hurry and not really paying attention to what you’re saying. You cautiously ask a question about one of your medications and the fact that you’re having problems sleeping. The reply is “Well, that could be any of your medications or it could be something else altogether.” He doesn’t elaborate; he doesn’t ask if your stressed out or why, doesn’t say whether or not any of your medications could be causing the problem and if so, what could be done about it.

You try again, this time revealing that you are having sharp pains in your wrist. Your doctor appears irritated and orders you to get on the examination table. He grabs your wrist and unsympathetically bends it in all directions, insensitive to your obvious pain. He asks you how long it’s been going on and you say about a week. He ask you what your doing when this takes place and you say “Just normal everyday stuff, lifting groceries, typing, driving the car”. “Hmmm” he says. The doctor asks what you’re taking for pain and you say ibuprofen. “I think you might have carpel tunnel. I’ll write you a prescription for Percocet and the nurse will issue you a wrist brace. Your insurance should cover it. If not, we’ll bill you. Call the office if your symptoms don’t change in a couple of weeks.” he replies. “

Time spent waiting in the lobby - 30 minutes. Time spent waiting in the examination room - 25 minutes Time spent with the doctor - 9 minutes. Now, if you knew that you would you have to wait for almost an hour for an exam that took 9 minutes would you have shown up? Wouldn’t that make you feel shortchanged? Would you feel as if you were being rushed through your appointment? Really, an office visit can run anywhere from $55 and upwards, you arrived on time, had to wait for 55 minutes before you were actually seen and got a whole 9 minutes and where made to feel as you were imposing.

This scenario is not that unusual and is taking place in physician’s offices all over the country. The patient is not getting their money’s worth and if current information is correct, you will be paying higher premiums and you will be getting even less service unless you are willing to pay out of pocket. But you have insurance? Sorry, that was the scenario for an insured person. A person without insurance would not be seen unless they had cash up front. Otherwise, the uninsured turn up at emergency room doors with problems that has gotten worse because of lack of attention.

To be continued…