re: Waiting at doctor's office

Doesn't matter, a doctor doesn't ever keep an appointment. Everyone knows that. The doctor just doesn't care in the least.

Bunk. You know and I know that whenever an appointment is given that the doctor will not keep it.

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Bunk. You know and I know that whenever an appointment is given that the doctor will not keep it.

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Tell CMS, BCBS, Aetna, et al to pay more per visit and maybe they wouldn't have to book a patient every 5 minutes.

Then tell the rest of your patient brethren to be on time and stick to the chief complaint.

Until that happens, enjoy your magazine. You're welcome to go home. At least then the patients behind you will be seen sooner.

What a load of crap.

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Why should a doctor make an appointment he knows he's not going to keep....and have absolutely no concern for not keeping it?

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Why is it a hard concept to understand.

I arrived at my office at 845. I schedule patients every 15 min plus allow for 1 or two walk-in or same day appointments in each 15 min slot also.

My first pt was not here or ready to be seen until 905. It is now 1048 and I have seen 10 pts. My 1030 pt is just now checking in. My 1045 just got roomed.


one pt runs late by 5 min, or has an insurance issue, or needs to use the restroom for 5 min, or has a difficult issue to explain, or has difficulty with an exam, or or or and the entire day gets set back. multiply this by 30-40 pts and by the end of the day you are running 3-90 min behind despite working through lunch. When you finally get all of the pts out of the clinic and cared for you then have to do all of the paperwork and labs and other issues that your were continually interrupted with all day long.

Doctors can get held up at the hospital doing morning rounds. Other patients often have multiple complaints that require attention. I find that specialists are more prompt than non specialists and I attribute that to a narrowing of focus.

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My doc is really good about keeping appointment times. I don't think I've ever sat in the waiting room longer than 5 minutes.

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Recently however I was running a little late for an appointment. 10 minutes before the appointment I called to tell them I would be there in 10-15 minutes, they told me I had to reschedule.

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These two things are directly related. Not requiring you to reschedule would have meant other patients didn't get the same experience you've had in the past.

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My uncle is a dentist and when I worked for him he would know the patient was ready for the check up and i would walk into his office and see him on the internet buying stupid stuff.

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Most of us are fortunate enough we get to frick around on TD all day. If I had a job that I had to be constantly working the whole entire time I'd be a little miffed...everybody needs some TD time.

Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule permit health care providers to use e-mail to discuss health issues and treatment with their patients?

Answer:

Yes. The Privacy Rule allows covered health care providers to communicate electronically, such as through e-mail, with their patients, provided they apply reasonable safeguards when doing so. See 45 C.F.R. § 164.530(c). For example, certain precautions may need to be taken when using e-mail to avoid unintentional disclosures, such as checking the e-mail address for accuracy before sending, or sending an e-mail alert to the patient for address confirmation prior to sending the message. Further, while the Privacy Rule does not prohibit the use of unencrypted e-mail for treatment-related communications between health care providers and patients, other safeguards should be applied to reasonably protect privacy, such as limiting the amount or type of information disclosed through the unencrypted e-mail. In addition, covered entities will want to ensure that any transmission of electronic protected health information is in compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule requirements at 45 C.F.R. Part 164, Subpart C.


Note that an individual has the right under the Privacy Rule to request and have a covered health care provider communicate with him or her by alternative means or at alternative locations, if reasonable. See 45 C.F.R. § 164.522(b). For example, a health care provider should accommodate an individual’s request to receive appointment reminders via e-mail, rather than on a postcard, if e-mail is a reasonable, alternative means for that provider to communicate with the patient. By the same token, however, if the use of unencrypted e-mail is unacceptable to a patient who requests confidential communications, other means of communicating with the patient, such as by more secure electronic methods, or by mail or telephone, should be offered and accommodated.


Patients may initiate communications with a provider using e-mail. If this situation occurs, the health care provider can assume (unless the patient has explicitly stated otherwise) that e-mail communications are acceptable to the individual. If the provider feels the patient may not be aware of the possible risks of using unencrypted e-mail, or has concerns about potential liability, the provider can alert the patient of those risks, and let the patient decide whether to continue e-mail communications.