This is a very general commentary, but one that everyone can probably relate to. What's the point of an appointment with a doctor or dentist, if they don't ever keep them in a timely fashion? I mean really, who has ever gotten into an appointment early or on time? But isn't that the idea behind scheduling an appointment? You agree to meet at a certain time because it is convenient to BOTH of you, however it quickly becomes an inconvenience when that appointment is not kept.
Part of the problem is that they overbook. If you know you can only see a patient every 20 minutes then why do you book them in for every 15 minutes? You create an unnecessary backlog and a lot of frustration with that. But just think about if you didn't uphold your end of the bargain. If a Doctor calls your name and you're not there because you're running late, then you don't get to go see the Doctor whenever you're ready. No you get pushed back. It's an unbalanced relationship. They know we NEED to see them, they don't NEED to see us and they exploit it to the fullest. Maybe it gives them a power trip or something and makes them feel special. Being needed is a nice feeling after all, but not cool Doctors, not cool.
People always complain about this type of stuff, much like I'm doing now, but we also easily forget. If you're sitting in the dentist office for 45 minutes waiting to be called you're very annoyed and antsy, but I guarantee that the moment your name is called, you forget about how long the wait was and it isn't an issue for you anymore, until 6 months later when you incur the same problem. It's funny how that works. People hate waiting, but when the wait is over it always seems worth it...well unless you're waiting in the emergency room to get that finger reattached and they can't do it anymore because it took too long for the Doctor to see you...
Download:
Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand - Primitive Radio Gods
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ReplyDeleteFirstly, if we had more family docs, the waits would not be AS bad. They are trying to fit in everyone who needs to be seen.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, people make appointments and don't show up. If you had 30 appointments and 3 people don't know up, you are not earning any money. The office would grind to a halt. The doctor would earn nothing and still have to pay the staff sitting around plus the overheads, therefore it make a huge dent in margins. Any factory, refinery etc always has a feedstock so they don't grind to a halt because of blips in supply. Big giant tanks of crude at refineries in case the day's crude shipment doesn't come in exactly on time. (yes, people are oil and the doctor refines them). If you operate at a 10% profit margin and find yourself with fixed overhead and suddenly 10% downtime...
In the US, where healthcare goes to the highest bidder, you can "pay" for that downtime in the form of higher fees and get same day appointments with no waiting. Not so much here. We need the feedstock in the waiting room in case people cancel so we (taxpayers) don't foot the bill for downtime.
Another thing: People don't wait to wait forever for a doctor's appointment so they save up their problems and don't tell the secretary that they have 5 appointments worth of stuff they need to see the doctor for. That takes an hour, you can't plan for it, and now everybody is behind for the rest of the day. A couple of those patients per day and suddenly the doctor gets no lunch break and is still 2 hours or more behind. None of there patients (when you have alloted for it) means everybody spends 25% of the work day sitting on their arse.
I hate waiting too, though. Pisses me off....
Brad
So it sounds like we're gonna have one more doctor on our hands who makes his patients wait! Also way to focus on the money. I thought medicine was about helping people?
ReplyDeleteI agree that wait times are a hassle; you may only be able to wait for so long before having to return to work/school/etc. It is easy to fall into the false belief that you are the center of the world. Tragically, there is only one center and we all can't be it.
ReplyDeletePhysicians in newfoundland are overworked and they are underpaid. They often-times feel required to increase their patient intake past their own comfort level in an attempt to reduce wait lists that are a lot longer than 45mins-1hr.
Be happy that you are only going to see a general physician and not a specialist. For instance, if your physician finds likely cancerous cells that require a gynecologist you are looking at a 5 MONTH wait list. If you have excessive vertebral ossification (too much bone growth in some part of your spine) that cuts off a nerve, causing numbness to a full leg, maybe even pain or partial paralysis, you are looking at 6+ months.
Makes your 45min wait for something that probably didn't need a physicians opinion in the first place seem a little trivial.
I was in a car accident that wrote off both cars involved and STILL had to wait 7 1/2hrs to get seen. This is not because the physician is sitting in back finishing up a game on XBOX; they are overworked, significantly underpaid and more than likely only in newfoundland because they love the province; they sure as hell ain't staying for the money, the respect, the benefits, or the considerate patients.
These forms of wait lists are often due to stupid things such as needing a refill on a prescription. In most provinces, pharmacists have the right to prescribe (to an extent). Still others can give shots, diabetes checks, heart checks, etc.; all things NL'ers need to see a physician for. All things that increase the wait times.
Ask any physician in Emerg or Surg how much down time they get. Once you realize how many of them are on their 4th 12-16hr shift in a row, you may decide to place your blame for minor inconveniences like waiting past your expected visit-time on something that deserves it (like the lack of government funding and financial support, or the debt that most provinces/countries are in for providing free medical services at all).
The use of "you" and "your" in the last comment indicates that I am a person who has never had to see a specialist or that I go to the doctor for minor ailments, both of which are incorrect assumptions, therefore when I do have to go to the doctor or see a specialist I am aggravated by the wait times because it tends to be a more serious issue.
ReplyDeleteI realize that Doctor's have a heavy workload, but my opinion on the matter is that I sure hate waiting. It's the same thing in the grocery store lineups.
Kara said:
ReplyDelete"So it sounds like we're gonna have one more doctor on our hands who makes his patients wait! Also way to focus on the money. I thought medicine was about helping people?"
I will graduate will a mortgage size loan at non-mortgage interest rates. Then I will do residency making less than minimum wage for years all while accumulating interest on said loan. Finally when I am past 30 years old I can start paying back some of that loan and hopefully start a family or something. Medicine is about helping people and it sure would be a lot easier to be an Albert Schweitzer if I didn't have to pay down hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans well into my 30s.
Whatever it is the doctors make for take home pay, market forces dictate that it will be just enough to justify taking that path that gets them there.
In case anyone was wondering why docs leave Newfoundland when they graduate...
kbarrett85 is me (Keith) not Kara.
ReplyDeleteAlso doctor's leave here cause there are too many old people, and old people stink!
dont bring me into this Brad! I could care less. I am so loved by the staff at my Family Dr.'s office, that they squeeze me in when im available to come.
ReplyDeleteSo, Keith, you're welcome, because i am a douche who skips the line and makes others wait.
Brad, I am the chick who makes you miss your lunch.
You're both very welcome!
Have a nice day.