I just got back from the dentist’s office, and since it had been quite awhile, I had once again to fill out forms. As usual these days, the form on the practice’s policies included the typical clause about you, the patient, needing to give them at least 48 hours’ notice to cancel, because, after all, please understand, it will cost us money in not one but two lost visits, yours and the person who could have filled that slot. (My summary of the wording).

And, as usual, I put in my OWN note: “By the same token, my time is also valuable. I expect to be seen within 15 minutes of my appointment time. Thanks for understanding, but this has to go both ways.”

Today’s health care providers no longer even make any attempt to seem focused on anything but their own wallets. I can appreciate their sentiment, but HELLO, how about throwing in a sop to us “billable hours” and add something like, “At the same time, we recognize that your time is valuable, so we strive to see you within 15 minutes of your appointment.”

Just last week, I attempted to see my foot doctor. He’d done some surgery last summer, and I was having some pain and wanted an X-ray. As always, I made the first appointment of the day and arrived early. The doctor was standing at the reception desk when I arrived. He disappeared. I was left in the waiting room for another 15 minutes, then in the exam room for 15 minutes, at which point I left. The fact is, every single time I had an appointment there, I was kept waiting a minimum of 30 minutes past my time. One time, the doctor was busy schmoozing with a sales rep. Another time, another patient left in visible anger after being kept waiting 45 minutes with no end in sight, and the front desk person rolled her eyes at how “bitchy” the woman was being. As if.

I sent him a letter telling him why I left, recounting the miserable record he has of keeping his appointments, and telling him that this was not an acceptable treatment of patients and I would like an apology. I’m still waiting, 2 weeks later. Well, guess what, doc? There’s a boatload of podiatrists out there.

My chiropractor actually kept me lying on his treatment table, getting cold, while he spent 10 minutes talking to a POTENTIAL patient on the phone. Ever hear of “let me take your number and call you back, I am with a patient”?

The rudeness of the health care profession just gets more astonishing by the year. I urge everyone to do what I do, and make it known that your time is valuable too and you won’t stand for being mistreated.