Long wait in the doctor's office? Frustrated? You're not alone.
It's happened to all of us. You make the appointment, mark your calendar and rush to make it to the office on time. But your health care professional is behind schedule and, now, so are you.
We all expect a certain amount of waiting in the "waiting room," but it seems these days that patients are having to wait longer and more often. HealthyWomen polled our audience in an informal survey to take the temperature of how women really feel about this growing condition.
And only 22 percent of participants feel OK about it.
While only 10 percent of women consider themselves infuriated and perceive the wait to be due to overbooking, half of those surveyed (50 percent) feel their time is not being respected and are annoyed by time spent watching the clock tick. An additional 17 percent acknowledge feeling frustrated but have grown accustomed to spending the added time waiting to hear their name called.
However, our wait time may be a double-edged sword. We want our health care professionals to spend quality time assessing our health and understanding our individual needs. Your health care provider may also want to spend more time with patients, but providers who do that may end up behind schedule.
Eleven percent of survey responders understood this conundrum, and 5 percent said they would overlook the added wait time if they received an apology. Even though these patients may be in the minority, it might benefit all those who have had to wait to consider how a mere 6 percent of responders view the time out of their own overbooked calendars: a time to read and relax.
Remember that HealthyWomen is a trusted source for journalists and members of the media to assist with medical experts, resources and trusted medical content. Please contact us if you would like the full survey results or for any other assistance.
We're here for you to provide what you need, when you need it—even if it's a little extra smartphone reading on HealthyWomen.org from the waiting room!
In good health,
Elizabeth Battaglino Cahill