Doctor's Visit Update

I spent all day Friday lamenting the long wait we were sure to encounter at the orthopedist’s office. I wrote a zillion blog posts in my head, naming the doctor and his staff, berating them for double-booking and then not offering one single, “I’m sorry,” or an explanation for the extended and intolerable wait time. I imagined myself writing the AMA, the LSJ, the AAOS and any other lettered association or newspaper who would let our fair doctor know how entirely rude and unprofessional it is to make an appointment, only to ignore his patient for over two hours.

And then my phone rang.

The doctor’s receptionist wanted to let me know the doctor was running a bit ahead of schedule and if we’d like we could come in now we could be seen right away. Two hours before our scheduled appointment.

To say I was stunned is an understatement.

When we saw Dr. D. he explained that Wednesday’s are the worst days for his appointments because that’s when he comes off call. He apologized for our delay and was glad we could come in early and, FYI, Fridays are his best days for staying on schedule.

You have no idea how thankful I was I never posted the rantings rumbling in my head.

I still think it’s unacceptable to make patients wait two hours. However, I understand stuff happens, but when it does, it is completely wrong not to call the patients ahead of time and let them know. It’s also offensive for the doctor or his/her staff to not apologize for an extended wait. But our orthopedist and his staff went a long way on Friday to mend the fences four hours of Wednesday wait time had broken.

But believe me; I’ve already rescheduled our next appointment from Wednesday to Friday.