How long do you wait at doctors office b4 being seen ?

[insanity]

I'm really ticked off at doctors these days and their double booking systems. Every time I go to my doctor I end up waiting 20-30 sometime even 45min late before being seen for my appointment. Their attitude is if you don't like it move on to another doctor. I wanted to find out if anyone else has the same problem ? :mad:

[peoples_Flip]

30-45 minutes is nothing.... my family doctor located on Bramalea Rd & Queen St. has an average wait time of over 1.5 hours.

[devious9191]

Same problem at every clinic I've been to in 10 years. 30 minute wait *minimum.

[chellemi]

it's normal for me to have to wait for an hour or more to see my doctor, even when i have an appointment.

[champ91]

really? I wait normally 5-10 mins.

[ainsane]

My family doctor used to make people wait for 2-3 hours. It was rediculous and I think enough people complained that she stopped overbooking as much. Now the wait is 1 hour or less.

[Hanniganite]

Yeah, what's 30 min? Average wait time at my doctor's place is at least an hour with/without an appointment. Only exception is flu shots sometimes...might be able to sneak in but otherwise it's 60min+. And it's frustrating because I live a 3 minute walk away but I can't just go home and ask them to call me when it's time or something. That's why unless my cold is really severe and lasts over a week, I'll just ride it out instead of going to the doctor for a medicine prescription :cool:

[tinlunlau]

i've experienced a 2 hour+ wait at the doctor's office once.
the worst thing is, i found out that when the line started moving, he has actually gone out to play golf.

[insanity]

I don't really respect general practioners too much, half the time they just send you for tests to make money.

Family physicians (General Practioners) in Ontario I think cap at $250K a year. My time is worth money too, to bad the doctors don't understand that.

[champ91]

I heard that a family physcian gets money for only a limited amount of patients per day, that's why they don't want to take that many patients a day.

[effie]

I can't even get a family doctor! Nobody's taking on any new patients. They tell us to go to a walk-in clinic. So, consider yourself lucky if you can get medical treatment in Canada these days. I need serious cancer screening, and can't get the process started. I wouldn't mind waiting if I could get an appointment.

And "they" want to waste more money on an election? Go figure! Put the money where it's needed, I say.

[HughG]

by the time i go in and nout of the doctors office is at least 2 hours.

[me!]

yeah, a few minutes is like godsend. I always wait a min 2 hours, and it has been as long as 3 hours sometimes. I go to the walk in clinics instead now.

[MizTEcK]

wow, now i feel extremely lucky that i wait like 10-15 minutes before being seen :o

[me!]

it all doesn't seem to be worth it, waiting up to 3 hours and then getting only 5mins with the doc. And when you ask any questions, he either gets mad at you for asking or just walks away and ignores u, pretending he didn't hear you or thinking it's just a waste of his time answering your questinos, and then goes on to the next patient

[skuntbehavior]

i poke fun at my wife all the time. sometimes she waits up to 4 hours. i was a victim of a wait once with my son. i cussed her harsh when i got home. soon after that they came up with a rule that children would see the doctor right away. but if she needs a note for ANYTHING, he gives it to her.
on the other side, i started going to my own doctor over 10 years ago. she works out of a walk in clinic. i don't wait more than 5 mins, get what i need and i am out.

[PBure]

Where I go, min. 12 hour wait. They just tell you to come back after work normally. its a joke.

[me!]

Where I go, min. 12 hour wait. They just tell you to come back after work normally. its a joke.

let me guess, that must be the emerg.

[gman]

let me guess, that must be the emerg.

No, I think he did not make an appointment and just walked in.

[TigerEROS]

Doctor Sharma in Markham .....

PULL OUT your file at 10am ...... get seen at 5pm.

Make an appointment for 10am ..... get seen at 1pm.

Doctor is ALWAYS LATE.

The receptionists tend to favour their own colour (curry) .... any other race .... you must wait.

[me!]

Doctor Sharma in Markham .....

PULL OUT your file at 10am ...... get seen at 5pm.

Make an appointment for 10am ..... get seen at 1pm.

Doctor is ALWAYS LATE.

The receptionists tend to favour their own colour (curry) .... any other race .... you must wait.

you mean they don't take patients in order?

then why go to him if you are not curry flavoured? (assuming you're not)

[UrbanPoet]

10 minutes or so... Not very long... theres 3 doctors within 1km radius of my house... so i just look for the least busiest one.

[mma]

I usually wait a long time (about 1 hour) to see most of my doctors:

my dentist (1.5 hrs)
my optometrist (1 hr)
my chiropractor (1/2 hr)

do you guys wait a long time at these doctors too? or just family doctors?

[Txiasaeia]

Depends on what I need. If I need to talk to my doctor about switching up my meds, I need to make an appointment (3 week waiting time) and usually get in 5-10 minutes once I'm there. If I just need some meds, I go to a walk-in clinic, which usually takes me, again, 5-10 minutes. But for the most part I'm my own doctor: I know what I need and usually only need a prescription. For example, I've been sick lately and as a result my asthma's seriously acting up. I go to the doctor and ask for prednisone. He asks me why I don't want antibiotics. I explain that I'm on these two other drugs normally, one more for when I'm really sick (like now), and since that isn't working, I need prednisone. Don't want antibiotics because I won't be sick for that much longer, and would rather have the steroids than antibiotics if I don't know that I've got a bacterial infection. It's all about finding a "refill" doctor and a good family doctor that can tell you about new and upcoming meds/treatments.

[synaptech]

I love it when you wait and they tell you to come back in a week... hell I already waited a week to see you!

[canadiantofu]

I wait about 20 minutes. I don't mind the wait because if I need to see the doctor on a non regular visit, they can usually get me in the same day on a double booking.

[HamsterGirl35]

yap, I hate going to doc offices.....average 1 hr wait.....
and the time to see me: < 5 min.... (What the.....)

[Keelie]

i've had a new doctor for 2yrs since my old one retired. before i never had a wait of more than 10 mins tops. now?? its nothing to wait over an hour for my appointment. it drives me crazy!!!!! on average its 45mins-1.5hrs wait.

i've finally wised up a bit... i try to make my appointment the day before and i make it for 4:45 (office closes at 5pm) no more than a 5minute wait ;)

[b0r3d]

Guess im lucky to have the doctor i do.. hes very much ontime, they dont overbook... ever. And hes always there, monday - friday and walkin on saturday, sunday hes off

[Audiogenic]

Many doctors overbook for many reasons (compensate for last minute cancellations, get paid per person, ect.).

What annoys me is the fact that many doctors don't even apologize for the wait when they finally see you 30 mins or an hour later.

[gman]

Many doctors overbook for many reasons (compensate for last minute cancellations, get paid per person, ect.).

What annoys me is the fact that many doctors don't even apologize for the wait when they finally see you 30 mins or an hour later.

To be fair, usually, it is not the doctor who arranges your appointment. He does not know (or care) how long you have waited.

I usually work this way. I call and make an appointment. I may call to check out the status before I actually go or I go straight there and ask how much longer I need to wait. If the lady says it will be an hour, I go out to have dinner and leave my cell phone number. She will call if somehow it speeds up. I also will take a book and may have a nap over there if I have to stay in the waiting room.

[hyperion]

10-20min, does not bother me that much.

[gman]

10-20min, does not bother me that much.

If it is only that much ... consider you are super lucky if you only need to wait that much.

[HunkaHunkaBurningLove]

You would think MD's would have a better booking system, or at least have one of those remote pager thingamajiggies like "Red Lobster" where you can wander off, and they can page you when your it's your turn. I think it's either a management problem, or an issue where they don't know how long a certain examination will take. Add to that the sheer number of people, and it likely results in a big backlog of people waiting. Still, you'd think they could just tell you to come back in an hour rather than waste that time waiting or just have something like Disney's "Fastpass." :cheesygri

Walk-in clinics are the worst next to emerg. I waited 2 hours once to see the doc, and it wasn't worth the wait that's for sure. I don't know what correspondence school he got his MD from, but boy it must have been cheap! :mad:

Unfortunately, there's a big MD shortage in Calgary it seems so what can you do? If you don't want to wait, there's a huge line-up of people behind you glad to see you leave.

[webdoctors]

when i first saw dis thread i was gonna rant about waiting 10-20 mins, but now I see u guys got it much worse, DUDEZ. SWITCH DOCZ ASAP!

dats crazy, I know emerg u wait 5+ hrs (happens to me everytyme), well...except at nite its usually only an hour or so...

but normal docz its pretty good, maybe 15 mins avg?

[7thEye]

You guys are being way too hard on doctors....they work very long hours and don't get paid enough accordingly...why do you think there is a shortage of GPs? Why do you think you have long wait times?

Its all b.c our doctors are underfunded and overworked. People in medical school opt away from general practice b.c they have such huge debt loads. Enrollement in medical school was cut by the Harris government, so there are less doctos working as GPs now then there ever where. On top of that, we have an again population that needs more care. Thus, less doctors and more patient visits and less pay per patient=longer wait times.

Its common to get angry when you have been waiting for 1.5hrs for an appointment, but you do have to keep in mind that there is more than just a supposedly 'greedy' doctor that is causing your long wait times.

[jianlian]

You guys are being way too hard on doctors....they work very long hours and don't get paid enough accordingly...why do you think there is a shortage of GPs? Why do you think you have long wait times?Enrollement in medical school was cut by the Harris government, so there are less doctos working as GPs now then there ever where. On top of that, we have an again population that needs more care. Thus, less doctors and more patient visits and less pay per patient=longer wait times.


Its all b.c our doctors are underfunded and overworked. People in medical school opt away from general practice b.c they have such huge debt loads.
Its common to get angry when you have been waiting for 1.5hrs for an appointment, but you do have to keep in mind that there is more than just a supposedly 'greedy' doctor that is causing your long wait times.

It is fair to say there GPs are in high demand and there are not enough of them. My problem is that if I make an APPOINTMENT for 2:00pm, I expect to see the doctor at or around 2:00pm!! that is the entire point of making an appointment. They should still be able to see the same number of patients and book in such a way that people can see the doctor close to the scheduled time.

[ptxpress]

My family doc I see in about an hour after my appointment. My Orthopedic surgeon....that's a different story. I have an appointment with him at 12pm this Thursday, I expect I'll see him sometime around 3pm for all of 5 mins.

[7thEye]

It is fair to say there GPs are in high demand and there are not enough of them. My problem is that if I make an APPOINTMENT for 2:00pm, I expect to see the doctor at or around 2:00pm!! that is the entire point of making an appointment. They should still be able to see the same number of patients and book in such a way that people can see the doctor close to the scheduled time.

thats ideally how things would work out, but just imagine that in a GPs office you frequentely get calls from people that need to come in the same day b.c they have an infection or something and b.c the GP had to book his office pretty full, when you get the add ons people get bumped and have longer wait times. If each GP had less patients to look after, they could book lighter and still compensate for the add ons.

I know it sucks to wait an hour for a 10min consultation, but its not all the doctos fault.

[Singh_21]

never been to a doctor in last 8 yrs

[benf]

Of course you wait.

What sane doctor would want to work in a country where a communist like environment prevails, and the government controls how much money you can make?

All the good ones are working in the US, and even some not so good ones.

[ainsane]

GOD DAMN IT, I went to my doctor on Friday to just get a prescription written. Anyway, for some reason she couldn't just write me one so I had to wait for my appointment. My appointment was for 11:00am... and I didn't see her till 2:30!! I asked the receptionist at 11:30 what timeslot she was actually seeing at that moment... and she told me the 8:45 timeslot. And since her first appointment is at 7:00am... that means she took approximately 4.5 hours to do 1.75 hours worth of appointments, or 2.6X the booked time. She must be trading recipes and telling her life story to every patient or something.

I'm going to switch doctors. At least if she was closer I could just come home and go back later.

[Shiifty]

Mine took 30 minutes yesterday, and he apologized for the wait. I was thinking, wow, that's great time! :cheesygri

[Vinsanity1379]

im looking to get a physical done within the following week. can you guys reccomend a reputable physician in markham.

thanks.

[Lauralai]

my grandfather had an appointment at our doctor's office at like 8:30 in the morning, he waited until 9 and asked what was taking so long, the doctor wasn't even in the office yet and they start appointments at 8, so they were booking appointments when she wasn't even there.
also whenever you book an appointment you usually have to wait a week to get in at least and then you are lucking if they don't call the day before or even day of and say the doctor is away for such and such amount of time and then they rebook your apointment 1 week later and then you might get another call saying the doctor's not in. It's happened a few times with my mother and grandparents and aunt since we all have the same doctor

[ainsane]

im looking to get a physical done within the following week. can you guys reccomend a reputable physician in markham.

thanks.

that's short notice for a physical... especially for one with a reputable physician.