Dr. Toshi Is In! "Why are doctors running behind schedule?"

Dear Dr. Toshi,

When I go to the doctor's office, it seems like sometimes I have to wait a long time in the waiting room or exam room for the doctor or other provider to see me. Why are they often running behind schedule like that?

It's very frustrating as a patient to have to wait a long time even though you get to an appointment on time or even early. (Yes, I've had that experience myself!) We providers really appreciate that our patients are on time, and we also try our best to keep on schedule in our clinic but sometimes we get behind. Today I'd like to tell you about some behind-the-scene reasons that can cause delays.

1) Sometimes there are emergencies that providers have to respond to (for example, sometimes doctors get called to the Emergency Room from the clinic, sometimes their clinic patients need emergency medical care, and so forth).

2) Some patients have a long list of medical problems they want to cover, so their appointment goes overtime.

3) Sometimes a provider will have two or three patients in a row like this.

Unfortunately, we can't do anything about the first one, emergency situations. In situations like this, whenever it's possible we try to have another provider see that doctor's patients, if there's one available.

With regard to the second one, here's what you can do:

1) Please don't wait until you have a lot of things to see the doctor for. Instead, please come in sooner when you have a medical issue that comes up.

2) If you do have several medical issues, prioritize them; your doctor wants to give everything on your list the attention it deserves, and if there are too many things, it will be important to address the most urgent conditions and the conditions that are bothering you the most in your visit, so they can spend more time on the other things on your list at a later visit instead of trying to rush through your list without giving each problem enough time. Also, it will help them stay on schedule so they won't keep their next patient waiting. The next patient might be your friend or neighbor!

When I make my appointment with my provider as a patient, I try not to schedule anything else back-to-back, especially after the doctor's appointment. I also like to get an earlier appointment whenever I can so I'll have time to stop at a drug store or labs if needed.

Another thing you might be able to do is this: if you're seeing your doctor or provider for an annual physical exam or other appointment where you think you might need labs, you can call ahead and see if you can get your annual labs done ahead of time (usually fasting) so you can actually talk about the results and make a plan based on them when you see your doctor/provider.

Finally, I'll tell you about something that I do when I have a doctor's appointment: I always bring something to read (a book or online book) just in case I have to wait. I've seen patients who are knitting, reading books, working, doing puzzles, and other things.

We will do our best to keep on time, too, so hopefully you won't have to wait very often!

Dr. Toshiko ("Toshi") Luckow, MD, is a Family Physician at the West River Health Services Hospital and Clinics.