I’ve been in a unique position all my life. I get a rare glimpse into two worlds: that of the doctor, and that of the patient.

Many patients – especially these days – seem to regard their physicians as just another service provider.  And they expect to get top-notch customer service.

I want to say right up front that I completely agree: You should expect top-notch customer service from your physician. If you don’t get it, you might consider finding a new doctor. Let me be the first to say that I am a very picky customer. I want my vendors to be professional, considerate, knowledgeable. This goes for physicians too.

However, I believe that many patients have completely unreasonable expectations when it comes to the service their physician can offer. Here are a few common complaints I’ve noticed, and my thoughts.

Complaint #1: My Doctor Is Never on Time

Man oh man, this is a biggie. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard friends or relatives whine, complain, or even fume about how long they’ve waited to see a physician. It’s a staple of sitcoms and comedy routines. (There’s a great Jerry Seinfeld routine on the waiting room that I’ll try to dig up.)

The truth is, it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll get in to see your doctor exactly on time. It’s a rare occurrence. But something many patients seem not to consider? That it’s out of their doctor’s control.

In my experience, physicians schedule a certain number of appointments each day in such a way that they SHOULD be able to be on time. Many clinics and doctors’ offices even schedule in buffer time, so that a hold up won’t completely ruin the day.

But the one constant in the life of a doctor is unpredictability. And the universe is always working against the doctors when it comes to being on time.

Take Husband for instance. During his current rotation, he has clinic hours every Monday and Tuesday. He sees up to three patients a day, and I believe he gets 50 minutes per appointment.

Last Tuesday, his first patient of the day was 20 minutes late. But Husband can’t say, “Oh, you were late. That means you only get 30 minutes from me today.” No, he has to do his regular, methodical exam. And if the patient is complicated, those 30 minutes are eaten up in no time.

Plus, as a first-year resident, Husband has to run his plans past an upper level resident or attending physician. Since there’s just one upper level to oversee ALL of the lower-level residents, Husband has to “get in line” and wait his turn to make sure he’s determined the best course of action for his patient.

So by the time he’s examined the patient, determined a course of action, run that plan past the attending, and then discussed the recommendations with the patient… Husband is well behind schedule.

Then the lateness snowballs. He continues to get later and later, until he comes home two and a half hours late, tired and frustrated.

Sometimes the lateness is due to carelessness or thoughtlessness of other patients. But sometimes it’s due to an emergency situation. For instance, my father (also a physician) would sometimes end up needing to reschedule an entire afternoon of patients in order to deliver a baby unexpectedly.

Other times, a delay comes from a complicated patient. Maybe YOU simply have a sore throat and need a throat culture. But some patients store up 20 different complaints or concerns to drop on the doctor all at once. Other patients may present with a case the physician is unfamiliar with… or a case that’s complicated by prescription interactions… or a case that must be handled by juggling multiple serious issues (like diabetes, blood pressure, cancer, etc.)… or a case that requires discussion with other specialists.

I have to admit, I get irritated when I hear people complain about how long they had to wait at the doctor. Yes, I understand that seeing a physician is often a stressful and anxiety-producing event. And I completely empathize with wanting your vendors to be on time. But I truly believe that physicians need to be in a category all their own, with separate considerations.

After all, would you want your doctor to hurry you through your appointment, just to stay on schedule? Wouldn’t that make you more anxious? Would you want your doctor to be so focused on the time clock that she didn’t give you her full attention? Or so worried about staying on schedule that she brushed aside one of your concerns?

Doctors, it sometimes seems, are expected to be perfect, infallible, superhuman. They are expected to give high-quality care, make instant, flawless diagnoses, come up with quick and easy cures, and have a superb beside manner – and do it all in just a few minutes… without making you feel rushed, of course! This is plainly unreasonable.

But I don’t think you have to approach your doctor’s appointments with frustration. With a little preparation, you can handle the scheduling issue calmly.

My first suggestion is just to prepare yourself for the worst. When I make a doctor’s appointment, I try to set aside several hours. The last time I had an appointment for a regular pelvic exam, I told my boss I would be gone all morning – even though the appointment takes 15 to 30 minutes tops. It was a good thing, too. I ended up in the waiting room for two hours. But since I’d already set aside the time, I didn’t feel stressed out.

Second, you should always try to get to the appointment early. At least 10 or 15 minutes before you’re scheduled. This may not get you seen earlier, but it could. Plus, if you’re early, it helps the doctor stay on schedule too.

If you’ve been waiting a long time to see the doctor – maybe more than 15 minutes past your appointment time – you can always head up to the receptionist and ask how far behind schedule the doctor is. If the doc is really behind – and if you have the flexibility to do so – you may even be able to reschedule. But at the very least, checking in helps you know what you’re facing!

You might also consider always trying to schedule your appointment as early in the morning as possible. If you’re the first appointment of the day, you’ll have the very best chance of seeing the doctor right on time.

Whenever you head to an appointment, bring something to distract you. (Or something to distract your kids, if you have them.) A book, a magazine, your computer. Something to keep you busy while you’re waiting definitely helps the time pass more quickly.

Okay – there are lots of other patient complaints I want to address… but this post is already way too long. I’ll bring them up in future posts.