Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Rant du jour

My primary care physician is an Aurora doctor, so most of my tests, etc., are done through Aurora.  However, my psychiatrist is affiliated with Wheaton Franciscan.  Both medical groups employ robocalls to remind patients of upcoming appointments.

The robocalls from Wheaton Franciscan end with the statement, “Please arrive thirty minutes prior to your appointment time.”  The first time, of course, I arrived thirty minutes early.  When I asked the receptionist why I was told to arrive thirty minutes early, she didn’t even know what the robocalls contained.  She said, “Just ignore it.”  So I did. Still, it bothered me that I am given an appointment months in advance, but a robocall changes the time two days before the appointment.

I was proud that Aurora robocall reminders don’t tell you to arrive early.  Ha.  I was proud until I received my reminder call from Aurora for a doctor’s appointment this week.  It said to arrive twenty minutes early. 

I also received one from Wheaton Franciscan for another appointment this week.  Now they are saying to arrive fifteen minutes early, instead of thirty.  I complained to a number of people at WF about their robocall reminders.  Maybe someone listened.

Today I saw my Aurora doctor.  I got there 2 minutes before my appointment time.  I had to wait about five minutes before I was shown into an examination room. Nobody said anything about arriving twenty minutes early.

It’s insulting to be told to arrive early for appointments.  Time thieves are the worst thieves, for no one can recover what they take.

3 comments:

Sassa said...

I have to plan to arrive at least 30 minutes because I can never find the doctors office. They say building b or c, on the east side or north of. I have been through their 'tunnel' several times and then she (very nicely) took me to the exit door so I could see where I was. I told them to paint their buildings different colors because they are not marked B or C clearly. Now I have one drs. office that I know and ask how do I get to you from there. All this takes 1/2 hour..so I arrive on time with maybe a minute to spare.

SER said...

I go to the Cancer Center a lot. They are pretty decent, if the doc is behind they will tell you right away he/she is 30 minutes or 60 minutes behind schedule.

If they are behind an hour, I go sit in my truck for about 30 minutes and listen to the radio, most of the time they are never an hour behind.

Couple years back I read an article where a lady sent an invoice to the doctor’s office for her time sitting there and they paid it! She was there waiting for almost 2 hours. The article mention more and more people are sending invoices to the doctor’s offices; I don’t know what the outcomes were…..

OrbsCorbs said...

My doctor is prompt with appointments. I rarely have to wait for more than five minutes, and if I do, he apologizes. He's in Family Practice and how he does it, I don't know. Every other doctors' appointment that I go to, they are running late.

I hate the trend towards putting TVs in waiting rooms. I dislike having to sit for an hour or more waiting to see the doctor while some nitwits blather endlessly on TV. Or worse, while some nitwits in the waiting room respond to the TV.