Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Cancelation Fee

Have you seen those signs in doctors offices that explain their cancellation fee? The ones that say that if you do not give 24 hour notice when you cancel you will be charge $25. I understand those signs. I really do. It's rude to skip appointments and the doctors want to ensure that people will be there. Now, have you seen the signs about being late? The ones that say that if you are more than 10 minutes late, you will be charged the $25 cancellation fee and your appointment will have to be rescheduled? I even understand these signs. People should be prompt when attending to appointments. However, i wish that I could have a sign that states if the doctor fails to see me within 20 minutes of my appointment, I reserve the right to charge them $25 cancellation fee. Wouldn't that be wonderful? It would help doctors learn to schedule better. Of course, I think each doctor should spend adequate time with each patient. Sometimes I simply feel like you aren't even really "seen" by the doctor. They just come in and leave as quickly as possible. So, doctors need to schedule more time in between appointments and stay on schedule or you get paid. What do you think?

2 comments:

Marie said...

Haha! That is a WONDERFUL idea! We would all be rich!

Sarah Sharp said...

Totally agree. It drives me crazy that some offices think it's just fine to overschedule because the patients will wait (I used to work in one and it drove me CRAZY).
I really don't mind if the doctor's late because someone had something that had to be taken care of right then and there, because I would like the same thing for me if I had something serious, instead of having to take Tylenol until I could be rescheduled.