I had my 2nd appointment today, and was shocked by how long I had to wait. I was in the waiting room for an hour before being called in, and then waited in the exam room for almost 45 minutes. And then I saw the OB for all of 5 minutes.
I had to wait even longer at our first appointment (we were there for almost 3 hours), but I just thought it was a one time thing. I've never experienced such a long wait at a doctor's office... Is this normal? DH thinks they should give out those little beeper things they hand out at restaurants when you have to wait for a table - not a bad idea!
Re: Wait time at the OB's office?
Welcome to 100% normalcy
right with ya though, sucks a bunch
45 minutes seems pretty standard for a dr, but 3 hours is out of control! ?I would have been ranting.
I have never had to wait longer than 15 minutes, but I also always go to the very first appt slot of the day.?
My husband and I felt the same way but then we realized that it was the time of day. We've since been scheduling my appointments for first thing in the morning since the office is usually quite empty and the Dr.'s are still on schedule.
My first visit, I sat in the waiting room for nearly an hour before being called in to even pee in a cup.
I informed them that next time, they can expect me to show up 45 minutes later than my scheduled time, since I may have other things that need to be done during the day.
Next appointment was only a 15 minute wait, though. That's acceptable, IMO.
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ditto; we're in and out in an hour. tops
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I think the answers you get vary so much from office to office. It really depends on how they do their scheduling.
When I had my DD I never had to wait longer than 15 min to get called back and frequently I was in and out of the office within 30-45 min. They had 6 OBs in the practice and only 5 of them took appts a day, as the other one was on call at the hospital and phones. I think they scheduled their appts about 20 min apart if I recall correctly.
Since having DD we have moves, so I am with a new practice. This office I typically wait 30 min to be taken back and need a minimum of an hour to get in and out. They have 3 OBs in the practice and the on call doc also has appts, so if there is a delivery they get very backed up. They also schedule their appts only 15 min apart, so the second someone has questions or runs 5 mins late they are behind.
If it is a small office with only one or two OB's, then wait times are not unusual.
Think about it...if the first couple of patients show up late, or have more-than-normal anticipated problems and go over their alloted appointment time period (most appts are blocked into 15-20 minute increments), in a small office, that will screw up the schedule for the rest of the day.
If you want to avoid wait times, your best bet is to schedule your appt. for as soon as they open in the morning.
I've been lucky, I go to a group practice, so they're pretty much always on schedule as there are so many providers available.
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The only time I've ever waited more than 10 minutes, the nurse had called me when I was on my way to let me know the doctor was on her way back to the office from a delivery and would be a little late. I can understand that doctors get behind due to deliveries, urgent appts, etc, but they could at least warn you that you'll be waiting a while.
Less than 10 minutes. I have never waited more than 10 since switching MDs. I think it is because my OB is younger and new to the area, and she hasn't built up her patient base as much as others. In the same practice before switching, I've waited as long as 2 hours.
Did I mention I love my doctor?