top o' the mornin'®
Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 7:42 am
Yesterday's trip to the gastroenterologist was an unmitigated disaster. First, although I had planned to leave the office with plenty of time to spare to stop and grab a bite to eat and get to the doctor's office by bus, a crisis cropped up that demanded attention, so I left the office much later than I had hoped. I caught the bus, but it only went two blocks before the bus driver and some kids in the back of the bus got into an argument and the driver stopped the bus and ordered the kids off. That put the bus behind schedule so I missed the connecting bus. By the time I got to the office (without stopping for lunch) it was after my 2PM appointment time.
I signed in and sat down; ten minutes later the receptionist called me to the window and I started filling out the paperwork, and gave her our medical debit card to cover the copayment. She ran the card through the machine and checked the paperwork I had filled out. Then she said, "You know that your appointment was for 4PM, right?" I did not - and I told her so. "The clerk in my doctor's office called me to tell me she had scheduled it for 2PM. I can't wait until 4PM because I have some place I must be at 5. If I had known the appointment was at 4 I'd have called to reschedule." She told me to step to the next window to reschedule; I reminded her that she had charged the copayment and I wanted it to be voided or cancelled or whatever. "I don't know how to do that," she said, but went around asking other office workers and finally found someone who did. Meanwhile I'm trying to reschedule - turns out the next available date is July 23, so that's when I'll be going.
Oh, and here's the punchline - while I was trying to reschedule I heard one of the nurses tell another waiting patient that the doctor was running "a little behind" - he was still with his 12:15 patient (and by this time it was 2:30). So even if my appointment had been at 2, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep it.
I signed in and sat down; ten minutes later the receptionist called me to the window and I started filling out the paperwork, and gave her our medical debit card to cover the copayment. She ran the card through the machine and checked the paperwork I had filled out. Then she said, "You know that your appointment was for 4PM, right?" I did not - and I told her so. "The clerk in my doctor's office called me to tell me she had scheduled it for 2PM. I can't wait until 4PM because I have some place I must be at 5. If I had known the appointment was at 4 I'd have called to reschedule." She told me to step to the next window to reschedule; I reminded her that she had charged the copayment and I wanted it to be voided or cancelled or whatever. "I don't know how to do that," she said, but went around asking other office workers and finally found someone who did. Meanwhile I'm trying to reschedule - turns out the next available date is July 23, so that's when I'll be going.
Oh, and here's the punchline - while I was trying to reschedule I heard one of the nurses tell another waiting patient that the doctor was running "a little behind" - he was still with his 12:15 patient (and by this time it was 2:30). So even if my appointment had been at 2, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep it.
