poll: how often see dr, waiting room time time spend with dr ect (pain, dentist)

[martyros]

Just taking a poll:

1)How often do you see your doctor for general checkups or follow up visits in a year. Do you go as soon as you have pain

2)How much time does your doctor spend time with you. Do you get at least a half hour with doctor and does your doctor discourage you if you want certain tests done to satify your fears

3) Does your doctor see you right away or do you spend half a day in waiting room

Remember the good old days of house calls or and doctors did not watch their clock when they saw you.

[cloven]

Were I to answer these for other kinds of medical specialists I see (dent., gyn., etc), the answers would differ.

Originally Posted by martyros

Just taking a poll:

1)How often do you see your doctor for general checkups or follow up visits in a year. Do you go as soon as you have pain

I see my primary care dr. every once in a while, not according to a set schedule, but as it occurs to me-may be 3x in one year, then not at all for a year.
When I have pain I still wait to see if it's something that will resolve on its own before making appt.-how long I wait depends on how severe/scary the pain is.

Originally Posted by martyros

2)How much time does your doctor spend time with you. Do you get at least a half hour with doctor and does your doctor discourage you if you want certain tests done to satify your fears

Yes, 1/2 to 1 hour is allowed for my appt.
I don't think the dr. discourages me,
but I haven't had much in mind for tests that I want anyway.

Originally Posted by martyros

3) Does your doctor see you right away or do you spend half a day in waiting room

I don't know how long the wait is bc. there's no clock visible in waiting room, but it can be 15 mins. before I'm shown in sometimes.

Originally Posted by martyros

Remember the good old days of house calls or and doctors did not watch their clock when they saw you.

Not to be argumentative, but I can't overlook that "not watching the clock" contributes to making drs. late for next appt.
(see your question #3), but I suppose the hope is for drs. to schedule time more generously-if they had more manageable caseloads ?

[wit-nit]

Just taking a poll:

1)How often do you see your doctor for general checkups or follow up visits in a year. Do you go as soon as you have pain. Annually unless a situation comes up that needs attention sooner.

2)How much time does your doctor spend time with you. 10-15 minutes. Most doctors today have 10 minute brackets per patient. Doctor times and fees are dictated by insurance companies these days. Several doctor offices have mentioned this to me. Do you get at least a half hour with doctor and does your doctor discourage you if you want certain tests done to satisfy your fears. Doctors will only do tests as necessary and dictated by the insurance coverage. Just because you want or ask for a test generally needs to be okayed first.

3) Does your doctor see you right away or do you spend half a day in waiting room. There is on the average about a 10 minute wait. If the doctor is seeing an emergency patient then it will be longer. If the doctor is 30 minutes late or going to be longer then I re-schedule. Twice I've changed doctors because they overbooked patients and were consistently late.

Remember the good old days of house calls or and doctors did not watch their clock when they saw you. The good ol' days were over 60 years ago when they actually made house calls where I lived.

[Natsku]

1)How often do you see your doctor for general checkups or follow up visits in a year. Do you go as soon as you have pain I go when I need to. I don't go for annual check ups or anything like that

2)How much time does your doctor spend time with you. Do you get at least a half hour with doctor and does your doctor discourage you if you want certain tests done to satify your fears appointments are supposed to be 10 minutes long but the doctor always spends as much time with me as I need. Sometimes he will send me to the nurse for a test and see another patient in the meantime so they are not kept waiting and I'll wait to be called back in

3) Does your doctor see you right away or do you spend half a day in waiting room
Depends. If I make a normal appointment I might be waiting 10 minutes or so but if I make an emergency appointment (well in the place I live now, where I lived before there was never a long wait) then I might be waiting an hour

I think doctors still do housecalls if needed here but I'm not entirely sure on that

[Pikantari]

Originally Posted by martyros

Just taking a poll:

1)How often do you see your doctor for general checkups or follow up visits in a year. Do you go as soon as you have pain
I see different doctors for different problems. I normally go to my Internist with a basic or 'new' problem. I also see her if I cannot get into one of my other doctors with a problem they treat me for but she is aware I have. I see my Rheumatologist every 3-4 months. I see my Neurologist every 4-6 months. I see my Internist whenever the need arises. I see my Dentist 2x a year unless I have an issue aside from cleanings.

2)How much time does your doctor spend time with you. Do you get at least a half hour with doctor and does your doctor discourage you if you want certain tests done to satify your fears
This really depends on the day and the problem. My doctors always answer all of my questions. I saw my Rheumie yesterday and she spent a good 30+ minutes with me. I also waited an hour and a half over my appointment time before being seen. My drive to see her is 3 hours so there is no way I was rescheduling! It was a good visit. My Neurologist usually spends about 15 minutes with me. My internist can spend anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes with me depending on what is going on.

3) Does your doctor see you right away or do you spend half a day in waiting room
I think it depends on the patient load as well as if other people have held them up being late.

Remember the good old days of house calls or and doctors did not watch their clock when they saw you.

I have never been seen in my home so I don't remember that one. I have never felt that my dr was rushing through my visit.

[brokencrayola]

Originally Posted by martyros

Just taking a poll:

1)How often do you see your doctor for general checkups or follow up visits in a year. Do you go as soon as you have pain

2)How much time does your doctor spend time with you. Do you get at least a half hour with doctor and does your doctor discourage you if you want certain tests done to satify your fears

3) Does your doctor see you right away or do you spend half a day in waiting room

Remember the good old days of house calls or and doctors did not watch their clock when they saw you.

Unless I am sick (which doesn't happen often), I see my doctor a couple of times a year. I suppose if I had certain fears he may order tests to ease my mind, I really haven't had that problems. I usually wait anywhere from 5 min.-20 min. in the waiting room. It is not often that the doctor would spend 1/2 hr. with me, it is usually more like 10-20 min. If I had something more serious he might take longer, but that is the norm. When I was a child doctors did house calls and I remember my father getting pneumonia every year or two and his doctor coming to the house.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Some doctors I see every 3 months for chronic health conditions, some I see every 6 months to monitor stable chronic conditions.

I spend anywhere from 15 min to 40 min with the actual doctor, depending on which one and which condition. I have never felt rushed. I have never asked for a test as I don't have unnecessary fears.

Usual wait is about 15 min.

I pick my doctors with care, researching their education and training, including specialization and board certifications. Maybe that is why I don't feel rushed. I believe I am getting EXCELLENT care from my doctors.

[katie45]

Originally Posted by martyros

Just taking a poll:

1)How often do you see your doctor for general checkups or follow up visits in a year. Do you go as soon as you have pain Generally, twice a year visits. I don't go right in for anything that does not appear to be of an 'emergency-type' ailment; or, if to me, it may appear as though a condition 'could' end up much worse if I don't go in.

2)How much time does your doctor spend time with you. Usually about 10 minutes. Do you get at least a half hour with doctor and does your doctor discourage you if you want certain tests done to satify your fears Dr. does not recommend tests unless absolutely necessary.

3) Does your doctor see you right away or do you spend half a day in waiting room Usual wait time is approximately 10 minutes.

Remember the good old days of house calls or and doctors did not watch their clock when they saw you. Have never had any doctor at my house.

If I have to see a specialist, the wait time can end up being a lot longer than waiting for my primary doctor.

[Townandcountrygal]

with my primary (internist), it's usually about 5-10 min in the waiting room and and 1 to 1.5 hours wait in the exam room. However, my doc acknowledges my arrival by popping his head into my room. Then he'll spend 1/2 to an hour with me as needed. He never rushes me and often explains everything in great detail (he get's paid more then!!) but I have insurance so I don't watch the clock either. Not only does he tend to talk, patients before me are always very late so I try to get the first appt. in a.m. or first after the clinic lunch hours.