Re: Late to Rheumy Appointment

August 27, 2005

Hi Sierra,

Stories like that just make me mad when I think of myself waiting 2 hours past

my doctor's appointment in the waiting room because the doctor is running

late! I feel they have a tendency to double book.

There was only one time in my life when I had to leave for my work after

waiting too long for my appointment and the doctor called me and

appologized to me! I nearly fell out of my chair!

> A few weeks ago, I had an appointment scheduled with my rheumy. I

> left the house with no time to spare, and then got lost trying to

> find his office (it's located in a congested part of our capital city

> and I had only been there once before). I tried to call from my cell

> phone, but was not able to speak to a real person. There was no

> option for contacting the reception desk, so I left a message for the

> doctor's assistant. When I got to the ramp, I had to circle and

> circle and circle to find a parking place. I dashed into the

> building, rushed into the office, and stood panting at the reception

> desk. When I told them who I was, I got looks of disdain. I was 20

> minutes late, and no one had received my call. They said they would

> ask the doctor if it would still be possible to see me. I crumpled

> into a chair, ready to cry! I was feeling weak from having taken my

> MTX the night before. The thought of going through that tremendous

> strain for nothing was too much to bear. A stern nurse came out and

> talked to me. It was possible that the doctor could squeeze me in in

> about two hours, she said. I could take that chance or reschedule.

> Because of the fatigue caused by the MTX, I really had no choice but

> to reschedule. To add insult to injury, I had to pay two and a half

> bucks to leave the parking ramp! :-(

>

> I wasn't mad at the rheumy office--I WAS late, they were booked with

> other patients, and I had to take the consequences. But now, because

> of my job change, there will be disruption in my care. I had gone to

> the trouble of getting X-rays sent to the rheumy so he could take new

> ones and compare. Now I could either see him at great expense (out-of-

> pocket or COBRA) at the Sept. appointment or reschedule for Oct. when

> my new insurance becomes active. I don't believe he is in network

> with my new insurance carrier, and I wasn't too impressed with him

> anyway, so I will switch back to my previous rheumy. (She has an

> easily accessible location--convenient, with free parking in a big

> open-air lot. And a real person answers the phone when you call!)

> But who knows how long it will take to get in to see her? I'll call

> on Monday. If it's too long a wait, I'll just see the rheumy with the

> X-rays in Sept. I am doing pretty well, and chances are high that no

> changes would be made in my treatment.

> I just wish I hadn't missed that last appointment!!! Especially

> because of the efforts that went into getting the X-rays...

>

> It helped me to get this out of my head--thanks for reading!

>

> Sierra

August 27, 2005

Saying that doctors " have a tendency to double book " is like the

understatement of the millenium. It's " normal " for us to wait at least

1 hour in our primary doc's office. Most times it is up to 2 hours! I

always try to make the first appt of the day, but when I get there,

there are 2 other people waiting with the same appt time. I keep

promising myself to find a new doc, but this one is good (except for the

appt times), and he knows all of our medical history.

Good luck,

Don & Eileen

wrote:

> Hi Sierra,

>

> Stories like that just make me mad when I think of myself waiting 2 hours past

> my doctor's appointment in the waiting room because the doctor is running

> late! I feel they have a tendency to double book.

>

> There was only one time in my life when I had to leave for my work after

> waiting too long for my appointment and the doctor called me and

> appologized to me! I nearly fell out of my chair!

>

>>A few weeks ago, I had an appointment scheduled with my rheumy. I

>>left the house with no time to spare, and then got lost trying to

>>find his office (it's located in a congested part of our capital city

>>and I had only been there once before). I tried to call from my cell

>>phone, but was not able to speak to a real person. There was no

>>option for contacting the reception desk, so I left a message for the

>>doctor's assistant. When I got to the ramp, I had to circle and

>>circle and circle to find a parking place. I dashed into the

>>building, rushed into the office, and stood panting at the reception

>>desk. When I told them who I was, I got looks of disdain. I was 20

>>minutes late, and no one had received my call. They said they would

>>ask the doctor if it would still be possible to see me. I crumpled

>>into a chair, ready to cry! I was feeling weak from having taken my

>>MTX the night before. The thought of going through that tremendous

>>strain for nothing was too much to bear. A stern nurse came out and

>>talked to me. It was possible that the doctor could squeeze me in in

>>about two hours, she said. I could take that chance or reschedule.

>>Because of the fatigue caused by the MTX, I really had no choice but

>>to reschedule. To add insult to injury, I had to pay two and a half

>>bucks to leave the parking ramp! :-(

>>

>>I wasn't mad at the rheumy office--I WAS late, they were booked with

>>other patients, and I had to take the consequences. But now, because

>>of my job change, there will be disruption in my care. I had gone to

>>the trouble of getting X-rays sent to the rheumy so he could take new

>>ones and compare. Now I could either see him at great expense (out-of-

>>pocket or COBRA) at the Sept. appointment or reschedule for Oct. when

>>my new insurance becomes active. I don't believe he is in network

>>with my new insurance carrier, and I wasn't too impressed with him

>>anyway, so I will switch back to my previous rheumy. (She has an

>>easily accessible location--convenient, with free parking in a big

>>open-air lot. And a real person answers the phone when you call!)

>>But who knows how long it will take to get in to see her? I'll call

>>on Monday. If it's too long a wait, I'll just see the rheumy with the

>>X-rays in Sept. I am doing pretty well, and chances are high that no

>>changes would be made in my treatment.

>>I just wish I hadn't missed that last appointment!!! Especially

>>because of the efforts that went into getting the X-rays...

>>

>>It helped me to get this out of my head--thanks for reading!

>>

>>Sierra

>

August 27, 2005

I think you misread my post. The fault was mine, not the doctor's.

I was 20 minutes late.

Sierra

> > A few weeks ago, I had an appointment scheduled with my rheumy. I

> > left the house with no time to spare, and then got lost trying to

> > find his office (it's located in a congested part of our capital

city

> > and I had only been there once before). I tried to call from my

cell

> > phone, but was not able to speak to a real person. There was no

> > option for contacting the reception desk, so I left a message for

the

> > doctor's assistant. When I got to the ramp, I had to circle and

> > circle and circle to find a parking place. I dashed into the

> > building, rushed into the office, and stood panting at the

reception

> > desk. When I told them who I was, I got looks of disdain. I was

20

> > minutes late, and no one had received my call. They said they

would

> > ask the doctor if it would still be possible to see me. I

crumpled

> > into a chair, ready to cry! I was feeling weak from having taken

my

> > MTX the night before. The thought of going through that

tremendous

> > strain for nothing was too much to bear. A stern nurse came out

and

> > talked to me. It was possible that the doctor could squeeze me in

in

> > about two hours, she said. I could take that chance or

reschedule.

> > Because of the fatigue caused by the MTX, I really had no choice

but

> > to reschedule. To add insult to injury, I had to pay two and a

half

> > bucks to leave the parking ramp! :-(

> >

> > I wasn't mad at the rheumy office--I WAS late, they were booked

with

> > other patients, and I had to take the consequences. But now,

because

> > of my job change, there will be disruption in my care. I had gone

to

> > the trouble of getting X-rays sent to the rheumy so he could take

new

> > ones and compare. Now I could either see him at great expense

(out-of-

> > pocket or COBRA) at the Sept. appointment or reschedule for Oct.

when

> > my new insurance becomes active. I don't believe he is in network

> > with my new insurance carrier, and I wasn't too impressed with

him

> > anyway, so I will switch back to my previous rheumy. (She has an

> > easily accessible location--convenient, with free parking in a

big

> > open-air lot. And a real person answers the phone when you

call!)

> > But who knows how long it will take to get in to see her? I'll

call

> > on Monday. If it's too long a wait, I'll just see the rheumy with

the

> > X-rays in Sept. I am doing pretty well, and chances are high that

no

> > changes would be made in my treatment.

> > I just wish I hadn't missed that last appointment!!! Especially

> > because of the efforts that went into getting the X-rays...

> >

> > It helped me to get this out of my head--thanks for reading!

> >

> > Sierra

August 27, 2005

I'm sorry to see you missed your appt. You'd think they could have

gotten you in earlier. I'm lucky with the RD I have now, he gets us in

and out and there's not much of a wait...but other doctors I've seen

you wait an hour or so to be seen, what's 20 minutes?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maggie

http://www.4HockeyFans.com

http://www.4FloridaHockey.com

MSN: Maggies1429

AOL: Maggies85

A few weeks ago, I had an appointment scheduled with my rheumy. I left the house with no time to spare, and then got lost trying to find his office (it's located in a congested part of our capital city and I had only been there once before). I tried to call from my cell phone, but was not able to speak to a real person. There was no option for contacting the reception desk, so I left a message for the doctor's assistant. When I got to the ramp, I had to circle and circle and circle to find a parking place. I dashed into the building, rushed into the office, and stood panting at the reception desk. When I told them who I was, I got looks of disdain. I was 20 minutes late, and no one had received my call. They said they would ask the doctor if it would still be possible to see me. I crumpled into a chair, ready to cry! I was feeling weak from having taken my MTX the night before. The thought of going through that tremendous strain for nothing was too much to bear. A stern nurse came out and talked to me. It was possible that the doctor could squeeze me in in about two hours, she said. I could take that chance or reschedule. Because of the fatigue caused by the MTX, I really had no choice but to reschedule. To add insult to injury, I had to pay two and a half bucks to leave the parking ramp! :-(

I wasn't mad at the rheumy office--I WAS late, they were booked with other patients, and I had to take the consequences. But now, because of my job change, there will be disruption in my care. I had gone to the trouble of getting X-rays sent to the rheumy so he could take new ones and compare. Now I could either see him at great expense (out-of-

pocket or COBRA) at the Sept. appointment or reschedule for Oct. when my new insurance becomes active. I don't believe he is in network with my new insurance carrier, and I wasn't too impressed with him anyway, so I will switch back to my previous rheumy. (She has an easily accessible location--convenient, with free parking in a big open-air lot. And a real person answers the phone when you call!) But who knows how long it will take to get in to see her? I'll call on Monday. If it's too long a wait, I'll just see the rheumy with the X-rays in Sept. I am doing pretty well, and chances are high that no changes would be made in my treatment.

I just wish I hadn't missed that last appointment!!! Especially because of the efforts that went into getting the X-rays...

It helped me to get this out of my head--thanks for reading!

Sierr

August 27, 2005

My husband and I believe that our time is as valuable as the doctors

(especially when I was still working full time). There are times

that an emergency comes up and there may be an extended wait, but if

its a regular thing for a specific doctor, we have changed to a new

doctor. We also wont make our co-pay until the appointment is

over. If we have to wait longer than 1 hour, we WON'T pay the co-

pay, because we figure our hour was worth that 15.00. Its amazing

the lengths we have seen certain offices go to, to make sure they

get us in. (We ultimately left this problem practice)

I find it so unbearably uncomfrotable to sit for long periods of

time, and frequently have mutliple Dr appointments in a single day,

that if one keeps me waiting so long, I won't make the other

appointments. I don't think I have ever waited longer than 15

minutes for my rheumy and they a;ways have " emergency slots " in

their schedule and can fit me in within a day if I call and I am in

really bad shape and need to get in to see the doc.

I know docs are busy, but it seems to me that if they really care,

they make sure they adjust schedules when necessary to get their

patients in and provide them the proper care. If not, see a doctor

that will. This is just my 2 cents and opinion.

Take Care,

Miriam

> >

> >>A few weeks ago, I had an appointment scheduled with my rheumy.

I

> >>left the house with no time to spare, and then got lost trying

to

> >>find his office (it's located in a congested part of our capital

city

> >>and I had only been there once before). I tried to call from my

cell

> >>phone, but was not able to speak to a real person. There was no

> >>option for contacting the reception desk, so I left a message

for the

> >>doctor's assistant. When I got to the ramp, I had to circle and

> >>circle and circle to find a parking place. I dashed into the

> >>building, rushed into the office, and stood panting at the

reception

> >>desk. When I told them who I was, I got looks of disdain. I was

20

> >>minutes late, and no one had received my call. They said they

would

> >>ask the doctor if it would still be possible to see me. I

crumpled

> >>into a chair, ready to cry! I was feeling weak from having taken

my

> >>MTX the night before. The thought of going through that

tremendous

> >>strain for nothing was too much to bear. A stern nurse came out

and

> >>talked to me. It was possible that the doctor could squeeze me

in in

> >>about two hours, she said. I could take that chance or

reschedule.

> >>Because of the fatigue caused by the MTX, I really had no choice

but

> >>to reschedule. To add insult to injury, I had to pay two and a

half

> >>bucks to leave the parking ramp! :-(

> >>

> >>I wasn't mad at the rheumy office--I WAS late, they were booked

with

> >>other patients, and I had to take the consequences. But now,

because

> >>of my job change, there will be disruption in my care. I had

gone to

> >>the trouble of getting X-rays sent to the rheumy so he could

take new

> >>ones and compare. Now I could either see him at great expense

(out-of-

> >>pocket or COBRA) at the Sept. appointment or reschedule for Oct.

when

> >>my new insurance becomes active. I don't believe he is in

network

> >>with my new insurance carrier, and I wasn't too impressed with

him

> >>anyway, so I will switch back to my previous rheumy. (She has an

> >>easily accessible location--convenient, with free parking in a

big

> >>open-air lot. And a real person answers the phone when you

call!)

> >>But who knows how long it will take to get in to see her? I'll

call

> >>on Monday. If it's too long a wait, I'll just see the rheumy

with the

> >>X-rays in Sept. I am doing pretty well, and chances are high

that no

> >>changes would be made in my treatment.

> >>I just wish I hadn't missed that last appointment!!! Especially

> >>because of the efforts that went into getting the X-rays...

> >>

> >>It helped me to get this out of my head--thanks for reading!

> >>

> >>Sierra

> >

August 27, 2005

Hi Sierra, this all happened for a reason, we don't always know what that

reason is, but there is a good reason and it's said that what ever happens

(being late) is absolutely perfect. If you were intended to be at that

appointment you would have arrived on time without the hassle of trying to

find the place or a parking spot.

Remember 9-11.........I know one woman who had never missed a flight in her

life, but on 9-11 she did and it ended up saving her life, now she knows

this is the outcome of the missed flight and is thankful, you don't know

what the outcome of being on time would have been, but it wasn't somehow

meant to be and this will all work out for the best.

Dorey

----- Original Message -----

From: " snowdrift52003 " <snowdrift52003@...>

Sent: Saturday, August 27, 2005 6:22 AM

Subject: Late to Rheumy Appointment

>A few weeks ago, I had an appointment scheduled with my rheumy. I