[MaverickLovesYou]

No big deal but I always kinda wanted to know the ruling on this situation.

I use to go to outpatient psychiatric visits at a local hospital in 2001. He was a nice pdoc; I liked him. One time I waited for approximately 45 minutes to see my pdoc bc before me inside his office he was with a female patient who what sounded like she was upset & sometimes crying. I having panic disorder/agoraphobia was of course hoping to start my session asap, so I could go home with my med/s. At the same time I was sympathetic to the patient currently inside taking up my session time.

Any professionals in the house who know what the ruling is in this situation? I was not going to get adamant about my pdoc stopping her session & starting mine or telling my pdoc I would report him if he doesn't begin my session, bc she was in a certain level of distress. Just curious.

[nottrustin]

I would likely have mixed emotions. On one hand it would be a bit frustrated and my anxiety would be high. However, if I knew that my provider was dealing with an emergency situation, I would also try to remind myself that my pdoc would do the same for me if I were in the same situation. We have gone over my allotted time in the past because of issue I dealt with. Not even close to 45 minutes but still.

Did anybody from the office tell you your pdoc would be really late?

[Gettingitsoon]

Wow. I would have been upset and confused waiting for that long. I'm assuming you didn't get any message that your session would be that delayed?

My T is often late, by a few minutes. Once in a while she will go over 10-15 minutes. Those times she always sends me a text apologizing and letting me know it won't be much longer.
Not ideal at all
BUT over the years, she has absolutely stayed with me post my time when I needed.

I don't think I could tolerate really prolonged lateness.
Did this happen just once? Or repeatedly?

[MaverickLovesYou]

Originally Posted by nottrustin

I would likely have mixed emotions. On one hand it would be a bit frustrated and my anxiety would be high. However, if I knew that my provider was dealing with an emergency situation, I would also try to remind myself that my pdoc would do the same for me if I were in the same situation. We have gone over my allotted time in the past because of issue I dealt with. Not even close to 45 minutes but still.

Did anybody from the office tell you your pdoc would be really late?

Nope. When my usual session time came up I knocked on his door. He opened the door & said sorry he's still with this patient. I waited about 15 minutes more & knocked again. I don't remember but he was nice & may have said she's having an emergency. About 15 minutes later she left & my pdoc called me in.

[MaverickLovesYou]

Originally Posted by Gettingitsoon

Wow. I would have been upset and confused waiting for that long. I'm assuming you didn't get any message that your session would be that delayed?

My T is often late, by a few minutes. Once in a while she will go over 10-15 minutes. Those times she always sends me a text apologizing and letting me know it won't be much longer.
Not ideal at all
BUT over the years, she has absolutely stayed with me post my time when I needed.

I don't think I could tolerate really prolonged lateness.
Did this happen just once? Or repeatedly?

Nope, no message. Only happened once, thank God. I was contemplating going home but I kept my composure, plus I didn't wanna go home without a new supply of med/s.

[Deejay14]

I have always been very patient waiting sometimes more than a. Hour at the end of day because there have been a good number of times I ha e needs more than 20 minutes and he willing!y gave me the time.

[ArtleyWilkins]

My psychiatrist was also a hospital administrator, so I was aware that besides his office patients, he also had inpatient clients as well as administrative issues that might come up. I realized he was a medical specialist and it is part and parcel of seeing a specialist that things come up. He was almost always on schedule, but on occasion, things were off and he or his staff communicated that to me. I also know that I was on occasion one of those emergencies that threw off his schedule for other patients. I particularly remember the day I needed to go inpatient and he met me just outside the unit so that legally they could admit me without me having to spend hours in the ER. That’s beyond the call of duty and the reason I stayed with him for years.

Sometimes we don’t realize what is going on behind the scenes, but once you do, you become very patient of that kind of care. My guess is that if your psychiatrist had an emergency, the schedule delay was justified.

[ElectricManatee]

I think of that as kind of an MD thing, even though it's frustrating to wait. I've waited that long for my obstetrician and my kid's pediatrician on at least one occasion each.

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by ElectricManatee

I think of that as kind of an MD thing, even though it's frustrating to wait. I've waited that long for my obstetrician and my kid's pediatrician on at least one occasion each.

Same here, unfortunately. Once, years ago, I was forgotten about for like an hour in the exam room (like the nurse did the blood pressure and such, then the doctor just...never came in. I finally checked at the front desk, and they admitted they'd forgotten about me). I get that emergencies happen, but I think they should find a way to communicate with patients that they're running late if it's 15 minutes or more.

At my current PCP's office, they'll sometimes announce if the doctor is running more than 30 minutes late, in case people want to reschedule and leave (like if they have to be back at work).

Though it's not just MDs...my former marriage counselor also would sometimes be 30 minutes late, which bothered me. My current therapist will text me if he's going to be even 5 minutes late, which I really appreciate.

[Quietmind 2]

I think it's an MD thing. I routinely wait anywhere between 10 minutes to 2 hours for them, plus public healthcare where I live doesn't even bother to tell people how long the wait can be.

It can be frustrating if you have to rush off for work, or have another medical appointment afterwards.

[MuddyBoots]

Definitely an MD thing. I don't remember the last time I saw an MD that was on time.
Once I had to wait two hours to see my pdoc. I walked out and never went back (it was our second appointment and the first didn't go so hot either).

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by MuddyBoots

Definitely an MD thing. I don't remember the last time I saw an MD that was on time.
Once I had to wait two hours to see my pdoc. I walked out and never went back (it was our second appointment and the first didn't go so hot either).

Two hours is completely ridiculous! I understand your decision to leave. That sounds like a case of them way overbooking--which I think is generally the issue with MDs. They try to cram in a bunch of appointments at 15 min each, then a patient has additional questions/concerns, something concerning shows up in their EKG or physical exam, etc., so it ends up taking more time than planned. Then everyone gets pushed back. They should allow more time.

[MaverickLovesYou]

Originally Posted by LonesomeTonight

Two hours is completely ridiculous! I understand your decision to leave. That sounds like a case of them way overbooking--which I think is generally the issue with MDs. They try to cram in a bunch of appointments at 15 min each, then a patient has additional questions/concerns, something concerning shows up in their EKG or physical exam, etc., so it ends up taking more time than planned. Then everyone gets pushed back. They should allow more time.

Agreed. 2 hours is ridiculous & unreasonable unless a patient has an emergency. Mental health especially is an area where people should not be treated as cattle. Sorry to go off-topic but before I started any kind of therapy or meds, I called a mental health clinic to get info on getting help. The rep answered. I briefly told her my reason for calling. She said hold on, calling out loud to a co-worker or supervisor by name & said "we got another one". Basically I was just a number to her

[RTerroni]

That happened to me a few months back at the place I was at before the place I am now (they were getting ready to shut down so I had to go somewhere else) and I forgot to put more money in the parking meter (since I didn't think I would be in there that long I didn't put much in) and I ended up getting a ticket

I also recently had a Therapy session delayed by about an hour due to the Therapist having to have to leave the office due to an emergency.

[ScarletPimpernel]

L and T have never made me wait due to a previous client having an emergency. Even for me, if I'm in a crisis and they don't have time for a double session, they're able to calm me down before time's up. I've left sessions crying. I respect that they have to do that. I don't want another client intruding on my time, so why should I feel like I can intrude on theirs. Though it does suck having to leave upset.

[SlumberKitty]

I've waited a long time for my pdoc before. When he was in a different practice than he is in now it was common to wait between 2 and 4 hours for him. Now he owns his own practice and manages how many patients he takes on, and I've not had to wait for him past 5 minutes.

Current T I think the longest I have waited for her is 10 minutes.

[Nammu]

If they are having an emergency I can understand it. My current pdoc has always been on time but he’s new, so I’ve no idea if he would ever have that type of emergency. My Md is the same clinic, they have a white board that says if they are on time or behind. Not that I go much, once he was 15 minutes delayed otherwise he’s been on time. I find Ts are more likely to be late but currently don’t have one. The last T I had was never late and in 13 years only out sick twice.