After a recent car accident, I went to the doctor for a check. After seeing the doctor, I waited like an hour and a half for my turn in the X-ray machine.

I had to go back for a followup appointment, which involved an hour's wait for a consultation that lasted not five minutes.

When I tell my friends, they all one-up me with longer waits they've endured.

How did this become the norm? In a country that prides itself on efficiency, we waste time in waiting rooms reading old magazines. There don't seem to be doctors who can keep on a schedule. Sure, things come up, but this doesn't happen occasionally, this happens every time. And it drives me nuts.

James Geluso
(also a TBC reporter, with a pet peeve)

Why is it that as consumers, we accept such poor service from health care providers?  Part of the answer is because of insurance restrictions, and the fact that until very recently, doctors were viewed with such high regard that no one dared questioned them or their treatments. 

My husband is in a fight for his life right now, and each time we leave the facility that is providing "specialty care" I am amazed that they are able to stay in business.  I suppose its fortunate for the proprietor that he chose the medical field, because in any other service industry, he would be out of business.  Here are some examples of poor customer service:

A 12:30 appointment for a blood transfusion----called back to the treatment area only to be informed that the blood had not yet been ordered-----this was a Tuesday----the appointment for the transfusion had been made the Friday before-----when all was said and done, it was after 3:00 before the treatment began.

A 9:00 appointment---signed in at 8:55, questioned about co-pay, copy of ID, etc----9:30 my phone is ringing, I do not recognize the number, but I answer------only to hear, "Mrs. T-----, this is V from Dr. ______ office------we have your husband scheduled for a 9:00 o'clock appointment-----will you be able to bring him in-------I look up, and not 10 feet away from me is the person calling----AMAZING

That same day-----scheduled for a 1:30  "stat" CT scan--------arrive and are taken back to the CT area, where we are asked, "are you an add on----well, yes------Dr. ________ scheduled it today------well, just want to inform you that all of the techs are at their Christmas lunch-----it will be awhile------

Fast forward to the next week-----first chemo appointment--------please be here at 8:00----------chemo not started until almost noon-----------------------3 weeks into a supposed 5 week radiation plan, radiation is amazingly finished------yet the oncology side of the facility had no clue------the nurse practitioner assured my husband she would find out why the change in plans and get back to him before he left-------well, that has been 3 weeks ago, and still no answers--------and when the question was asked today as to why members of the "team" did not have the same info------the response was "well, there are lots of players on the team, and we cannot all know."  WHAT!!!!!!!


And I could go on, and on---------and it is frustrating because my husband's only other option is to NOT receive treatment anywhere.  

I think its a wonderful things Ms. Hughes did. 

The hip bone's connected to the knee bone, and the knee bone's connected to the ankle bone...

I'm llucky so far..I like my doctor.  But then I haven't had any serious issues yet.  When she thought I was, she was ready to slap me in the hospital for blood loss.  When I went in last week for a UTI I saw her practitioner.  I'm not sure I like that but he was ok.

I hate to hear of cases like your and your husbands Jessica.  I hope things get better.

I like all my spouse's doctors (one of whom is mine as well.)  We had to wait a half hour the other day for an appointment--which has *NEVER* happened with this particular physician before.

Did the Dr.'s office have a minimum time for cancellation?  Was it really an error made by the bank?  I know I don't know all of the facts in this story but it sounds to me that this woman likes to blame everyone but herself when things go bad.  I worked at a bank for 3 years and out of the thousands of overdrafts I saw only a handful was the banks fault.  Most Dr. offices have at least a 24 hour cancellation to avoid fees.  I know doctors make more money than most but we must remember that they are in business to make money.  The fact that the office personal spoke with this woman about HER bounced check at the reception desk doesn't make this office any different than most businesses.  Should they have taken her to a secret back room to talk...no. Oh, I almost forgot she had to wait in a waiting room...Wow I am completely shocked.  I would have never guessed that people have to wait in a place called a waiting room.  This woman needs to wake up and learn to play by the rules.  BTW did she contact the Californian or did you find her?  If you found her what makes a 1 woman protest newsworthy?

Um, Emily, you know this lady is looney tunes right? Just ask her poor neighbors.  Ms. Hughes has "picketed" many businesses in Bakersfield. Anytime someone so much as looks at her funny she has a hissy fit.  You should have asked her about  the time she dumped used cat litter on a businesses front door.   

I would like for you to prove that Ms Hughes is " looney tunes."  All I see and hear is a person exercising her right to speak out and there are damn few people willing to do that. Do you think there is Glory in doing that kind of thing?  Do you know the kind of CRAP a picketer has to put up with?

Why is it in a nation where our 1st not 2nd or 3rd but 1st Amendment is viewed with such disdain.  She is gutsy and putting herself out there for what she believes in and all someone can say is that she is "looney tunes."   I 'D love to ask YOUR neighbors about YOU.

Anyone can have problems with neighbors--MY neighbors are all pains in the ass--they are noisy, don't even wave or say Hello and drive down my street at 50 miles an hour and the street is narrow and only safe to go 15. So I often have problems with them and guess what---I WORK at the LOONEY Bin and this woman is NOT looney becasue she pickets---she would be looney if she didn't

BETTERTHANAGUN

COULDBDEAD

Thetruthhurts, good comments.

I don't know if the doctor's office has a cancellation policy — they didn't return requests for comment. If Dr. Thorpe or someone from his office gets back to me Tuesday, I'll be sure to pass that information along.

And a couple people called The Californian about Ms. Hughes. To answer questions people may have about why a woman was protesting Dr. Thorpe's office all afternoon, I put up this blog post.


Kortneeluv, this woman may have picketed other people and businesses before. Regardless, her issues with this doctor's office echo complaints I have heard from other people about doctor's offices in general. Another reason why I thought this would make good blog fodder.

I think this topic is great for blog fodder.   The sad reality is that the majority of people have received TERRIBLE customer service from the health care industry.  And to make myself clear, there is a distinction between CARE and service.  What other industry would we accept long waits, unreturned phone calls, and 3 minutes or less of someone's time after waiting for an hour or more?

I realize there is no easy solution to the situation, but I do think one simple change the health care industry could make is to let you know when you sign in just how long it will be before you are actually called back to an exam room, to simply wait again.  Customers should be given the option of waiting, or returning closer to the time when they will actually be seeing the provider.

I find it quite ironic that health care providers charge a cancellation fee---considering the majority of them are unable to keep their side of the appointment in a timely manner.

I have yet to see a doctors office  that will pay YOU should THEY need to cancel an appointment.

I have yet to figure out what happened to my posts from last night.  I posted here and on another blog and they vanished. Weird.

Basically mine was like Baylees in that I commented that doctors offices are notorious for keeping people waiting long after their scheduled times.  There have been tons of letters and jokes about it over the years where people billed the doctor for THEIR time waiting..

Dr. Thorpe was our physician while we were in Bakersfield and we found him to be excellent. I'd say the same for his efficient staff also. Sounds like his busy waiting room will be infested by one less nut now - a win/win for everyone! 

I've been going to the doctor's office a lot lately, what with this cancer thing and all. But even at the beginning when I went to Dr. Gilli's office, I've had virtually no waits or nothing lasting more than 15 or 20 minutes. That includes doctors. Arya, Ciarolla, Dean Davis, and Kalha. Over a period of five months.

The only place I've had long waits in the past were at urgent care centers and emergency rooms, but that's to be expected.

You guys should try the poor persons choice~clinics! You'll never complain about two hour waits again. When Kelsey was 9 months or so we had an appointment for an ortho clinic at KMC for 8 am,by 5 pm there were still 5 folks in front of us,and I had run out of food and diapers.We left unseen,I figured he'd walk by the time they saw us. That was the extreme case but by and large the poor wait much longer than two hours to get help.

I guess unless you work at a doctor's office you don't know what goes on "in the back".  Have you ever gone into the doctor for a cold and then said "by the way, doc, I've been having chest pain for the past few days"...Do you know what happens next?  This doctor has a responsibility to this patient to make sure there is nothing serious going on...so now a fifteen minute appointment is a one hour appointment.  You as a patient in the waiting room don't know what's going on...but why is that doctor running behind anyway? It could be YOU with the chest pain! 

Now I saw this pretty little blonde gal holding a sign up yesterday in front of Ms. Hughes which read : Dr. Thorpe is AN EXCELLENT DOCTOR!  Why didn't anyone take her story?  And what makes Ms. Hughes story newsworthy anyway?  I suspect SHE called the Californian.  Doesn't she have anything better to do?

And if you don't know what HIPAA laws are...find out!  This is probably why Dr. Thorpe made no comment!  Too bad the newspaper can't print the WHOLE story!

I hope that Ms. Hughes stays well.  She might have a hard time finding someone to take her as a patient. 

 

Evielarue, I like your comments about what goes on "in the back." No one has brought that up yet.

When I stopped by to see Ms. Hughes Monday, the blonde woman you mention was not out there. If I had seen her, I would have included that. I'm glad you put that info out there.

And if Dr. Thorpe had said he couldn't comment due to HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act) I would have included that as well. But I'm not going to put words in his mouth or write why or why not I think someone might comment.

Dr. Thorpe is my physician and has been for several years, and is also physician to several of my friends.  When I go to the doctor, I have an appointment.  My usual wait time is anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes rarely have I waited longer, never have I waited 30.    I have never waited anywhere near two hours.  The schedule is busy, meaning the slots are filled.  So if by chance she went in as a walk in without making an appointment, I could see her waiting longer.  Dr. Thorpe has always been a caring physician.  All talk of payment is not done near the waiting room window but in the back office.  If anything, there could be a patient of his co-workers there who is also exiting but I highly doubt the office workers would make a big deal over the money in front of another  patient.  If they were discussing the patients financial problems in front of other patients, is that really doctor Thorpe's fault?  That should be responsibility of the office manager or whoever is in charge of training, but not the doctor.  After all, supposedly he never came out.  How would he even know what was discussed?   I worked in the health care field for 25 years.  We all try to hire the best employees, but sometimes a bad one slips through the cracks.  Dr. Thorpe has always been a caring physician his patients it's sad that he would be portrayed as the bad guy.  Hopefully the majority of you like me believe half of what you see and some or none of what you hear.

why is it that when just one person has a negative spin on something it's news worthy? why not ask some of the patients coming out of the office. Than you say the Dr. wouldn't comment. but all ready you are blasting Dr's about waiting times. Don't you think if he had taken the time to explain his side of the story that would have put his patients behind there appointment times? OR maybe that would help give your story some more bite. I have seen Dr Thorpe pretty much since he opened his practice. before I saw him for the first time i called and asked his office staff if this was a Dr  who was interested in the number of patients or the care of patients, I was told that Dr Thorpe felt that when the money was more important than the patients it was  time for him to find another profession, I have found out first hand that this was very true of his belief's, by my own experiences as well as many friends and employees that I have referred to Dr Thorpe. I can honestly say that no one has had anything but praises to say about him. on my first visit to Dr. Thorpe he noticed that something was going on in my heart that wasn't right he got on the phone to my cardiologist and argued with him that i needed to be checked out, Over the phone My cardiologist whom I had been seeing for a couple years told Dr Thorpe that he had just put in some stints and nothing was wrong with me, and that he wouldn't do a procedure to confirm this. Dr Thorpe wouldn't accept this an admitted me into the hospital. After the hospitals on call Dr did the procedure, A heart surgeon came into my room and I was told I had to have a triple by pass and it had to be done right away or I wouldn't make it through the weekend. (Needless to say I changed cardiologist.)  Not too bad for a first visit I would say. By the way I went into see Dr Thorpe for a cold. so I guess I made another patients appointment  off schedule. I don't know about you but I would rather wait another hour in a waiting room (which I have very rarely had to do with Dr Thorpe) and know that my being made to wait might just let someone else be able to have more time on this earth to spend with there family. I have also found his office staff to be very professional, efficient, compassionate,and understanding.