Just Wondering, How Long Do You Wait to Be Seen at Your Pediatrician's Office?

If I have scheduled my appointment in advance usually only 5-10 mins. If I have not and they are squeezing me in because I called that morning it could be at least a hr.

At our current office, which is actually tied to the one we used to go to, our wait is just a few minutes. At the previous one it was half an hour or so, and when we go to the doc now you can see a lot of people waiting. The room is full. When my first 3 were born, the doctor we saw was fantastic but the wait times were awful, an hour or more. And then once we got into the exam room, another half hour or more. We followed the doc when he left because it was getting worse as they started accepting more insurance companies. When my little one was born, I just went ahead and changed all of them over to my doctor's office.

At our old family practice, wait times of half an hour or more were pretty common. but it was an office that was understaffed and just generally the service got worse and worse.

We moved and at our new office we have NEVER waited more than 10 minutes- even when we were gotten in at the last minute with an 'emergency' visit. I think it is just all in how well the office runs- how well staffed it is, do they overbook the doctors, allow enough time for each patient, etc. If you are not happy about it, I would consider changing offices, unless you really love your pediatrician. You could also complain to the office manager- but then you risk being known as the 'complainer'!

I actually switched my children's very first pediatrician because I hated her lack of punctuality. I, too, understand that emergencies happen, but I would deliberately ask for her first appointment of the day and never got in before waiting at least 30 minutes. After the first few times, it really bugged me. Finally, I decided to find a new pediatrician who had us in her office if not on time, then early. I've only once waited on account of an emergency and her staff was wonderful in communicating the delay to us.

When we have an appointment, I have never waited more than 10-15 minutes, even if it was a sick visit I made that day. The only exception is they have a time 7 days a week (8am Mon-Sat and 10am Sun) when you can bring your sick child without an appointment. It is a lifesaver when your kid wakes up at 2am sick and you know you only have to wait until 8am to be seen instead of worrying about getting an appointment or having to go to the ER. These times are first come, first serve. I have had to wait up to 40 minutes on a Saturday morning before. But I stress, this is just a walk-in and we dodn't have an appointment. The practice is the Northwestern Children's Practice downtown and all the docs we have seen there are great! I too understand emergencies, but it aggravates me when docs consistently overbook. Your time is just as valuable as their time and should be treated as such!

I have a fourteen month old and have never had to wait. I don't think I have been there during flu season though.

I had this problem at my gynecologist. Every time I went I had to wait anywhere from half hour to one hour. I felt that was unacceptable. I understand about emergencies and do not have a problem from time to time but every pregnant visit. I later found out they deliberately double or triple booked appointments without emergency reasoning. I switched.

Our first pediatrician was a solo practitioner with limited hours. After we got past the well-baby visits and started experiencing sick-child visits, we would be waiting over an hour. I understood that she was a solo practitioner but that was entirely too long for me. We LOVED her, but her scheduling did not mesh with ours.

We then switched to a multi-physician practice and now wait no longer than 20 minutes. For well-child visits, we see our preferred doctor, but when my child is sick I honestly don't care who my child sees: the quicker the better, because usually all he needs is a prescription and someone to look him over. We've even had some sick visits where I pick my kid up from daycare, call them on the way to see if they can see me in 15-30 minutes and they've ALWAYS accommodated me. Now, these waits have been longer but if they are going to squeeze me in with 15 minutes notice then I certainly accept the fact that I may have to wait.

Some tips - Avoid Mondays and Fridays if possible; they're always the busiest. Also, the hours between 2-5 are usually the worst, as are evening hours. And, like another poster said, try to schedule for 'first appointment' of the day or close to it.

The LONGEST I have ever had to wait was 10 minutes. Most times we don't even have time to get our coats off! :) Oh, and we go to a very busy peds. office!
Can you talk to the administrator of the clinic? Many clinics seem to be mismanaged. At our old clinic it was common to wait in the waiting room for 30 min., in the exam room for another 30-45 and then have someone come tell you that the doctor was in surgery that day. It's the most bizzare place!

I'm from NC and wanted to say that wait times down there are far longer than any I have encountered here. It was expected there, that even with an appt, to wait for at LEAST an hour- no matter what kind of dr it was. I waited for 3 hours once for an ortho to look at my broken knee, as I vomited in the waiting room I was in so much pain. It is just NOTHING there to wait. Every appt of my childhood for peds were 1-2 hours. Never any less.

Here I wait about 10-20 minutes in our family dr's office, about 5 min at the dentist, and other various dr's it has been anywhere from immediate to 45 minutes. The 45 minute one was at Children's for a specialist.

M.

Normally we might wait 5 - 20 minutes, depending on how busy it is. There are only 2 doctors at our peds and on two days a week only one of them is there. I do not have a problem on a regular basis, although there have been a few times here and there we wait a much longer time. If I had to wait a long time on a regular basis I would probably find another doctor if I were you. I have been with mine for 15 years, and I love the care he gives, so you have to decide how great you think the doc is and if you are willing to wait or not. For me, I would wait because I love the doc that much. If you are not that attached to yours, looking around might not be a bad idea.

I just took my son yesterday for his 6 month appt and I did not wait more than 5 minutes. In fact, we have never waited. However, the office has a pretty stict policy that if you are more than 10 minutes late, they can cancel your appt. I think this keeps people on time and everything moving very nicely. We go to Child and Adol. Health Assoc on the Gold Coast and love Dr. T!

This is one of the many reasons we left our first pediatrician. It was not unusual to wait 1 or even 2 hours.

With our current pediatrician (for the past 6 years) we typically don't wait more than 5-10 minutes, although one day recently when they were very busy we did wait about 45 minutes. That was pretty unusual, though.

We go to a family dr. and we hardly ever wait more than 10 minutes. Now, with an emergency visit, sometimes it is a little longer, but then again they are squeezing you in. The one time we did wait a while, we found out that they had to take a patient to the er, so that is why they were late. Some offices schedule better than others, but we have had very good luck.

We usually wait about 15 minutes in the waiting room, but we may wait another 15 minutes in the exam room after a nurse comes in to do vitals etc. If I am waiting more than 20 minutes in the waiting room I always speak with the receptionist to remind them that I have been waiting a long time and ask them what the hold-up is. In general, we consider it about average if we are in and out in 1 hour for a normal appointment, or 1:30 if there are shots and/or labs that need to be done. Not ideal, but we can live with that.

ADDED: I *always* try and book first thing in the morning or first thing after the lunch break, if it's a scheduled appt (as opposed to a sick day-of appt). This speeds things up immensely!

I wish the office did a courtesy call warning how far behind they are! I once waitted an hour and ten minutes! We were surrounded by sick coughing kids in an overheated waitting room. My baby is 5 months old so you know I was pannicking!! I hate waitting!