Nicole,
As someone who spent a good portion of their life in waiting rooms, (pharma rep), let me throw in my 2 cents. It's virtually impossible for a medical office to stay on schedule. And believe me, it's not the reps that are the problem! The best way to beat the system is to schedule your appointment as close to the beginning of hours as possible. Also, the first slot after lunch is good. It's still no guarantee, but it will give you a fighting chance. Specialty offices are usually the most punctual. Generalists are the worst. And if your doctor is solo rather than a group---take your laptop and a snack.

I think it's just <i>wrong</i> that doctor's offices can hold you 'hostage' in the waiting room like that...there have been times that I've felt I've waited too long (I get impatient when I'm sitting there for an hour), I'll check with the desk and find out how much longer...usually then it's only another 10 minutes or so (the squeaky wheel and all that jazz).

There was one time I had the first appointment in the morning - and no one was even in the office yet! They were all about 1/2 hour late (no weather problems, so...not sure why) at least I got right in (1/2 hour late). But when I was ready to leave, I was told I had to wait for the 'check out' person first...I didn't have a co-pay that day, I didn't owe money from a previous visit, and I didn't have to have a prescription filled out because it was a follow-up visit from prior surgery... I was told I was just going to have to wait for her to get in - she was an hour late at that point - and the lady at the desk had <i>no idea</i> 'when' that person would be in. So I waited all of 10 minutes and just left (I had my daughter with me who was 4 at the time and really getting restless...and hungry! LOL!) I kept feeling like someone was going to run after me in the parking lot and 'make' me come back in to wait...LOL!!!

You are too patient. I would have left and switched doctors. That's just rude. And that's only happened to me once.

Doctors who consistently make people wait that long are demonstrating a concerning lack of attention to detail. If they are consistently scheduling less time than they require for appointments, it makes me wonder if they know what they are doing. Yes, sometimes things come up, but if a doctor is consistently more than half an hour late, it demonstrates an alarming level of incompetence.

I agree with Anne and you Nicole. Scheduling needs to be realistic. If not, the doctor is either kidding himself or doesn't give a s**t about other people's time! And yes, G.P.'s do have emergencies, and sometimes things crop up to make them run behind, but not ALL THE TIME. Rant Over. Deep breath.