CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — Today in medical offices around the country, patients may find themselves waiting a long time for their doctors to see them. Why is it that doctors are almost always late for their appointments?
Some cite busyness and long hours, saying that doctors have to sacrifice much of their time for the betterment of patient care. The issue has become so ubiquitous that there is even a nickname for the extra time that doctors make patients wait – the “doctor lag.”
In many cases, administrators, in order to maximize profits, overwhelm doctors with an ever-increasing workload, trying to fit too many complex appointments into a limited time. Consequently, appointments overlap, and delays become inevitable.
For some specialties, emergency procedures or surgery take precedence and derail pre-booked appointments. The result is the disruption of doctors’ tight schedules, and the ensuing “doctor lag” for other patients.
At times, patient no-show or canceled visits are such a common occurrence that physicians double-book or may schedule overlapping appointments to hedge against the lost patient visits.
Other contributing factors to the doctor lag phenomenon include lengthy paperwork and processing of medical documents, staff turnover and poor communication between office personnel. These logistical hiccups contribute to missed appointment times.
Consequently, patients in the waiting room may experience a sense of being neglected, as if their presence was of no value, as apologies for delays become a mere formality. Furthermore, their time is of little consideration, as if it was a negligible commodity.
This is an issue that, at its core, demonstrates how health systems view their patients.
Even in light of these challenges, health care institutions are slowly taking strides to overcome the difficulty. Efforts to boost personnel productivity, bolster communication procedures and leverage technology have made headway in rectifying the problem.
At Mojave Health, we are dedicated to revolutionizing the patient experience by ensuring that our patients never have to wait for a doctor’s appointment. We believe that eliminating doctor lag is essential for delivering high-quality health care to our patients. With the help of cutting-edge technology, we are able to streamline the appointment booking process and minimize wait times, allowing our patients to receive the care they need in a timely manner.
To learn more or to schedule an appointment, visit us at MojaveHealth.com or call 435-574-9146.
Written by DR. GARY MACDONALD, family physician, economist and co-founder of Mojave Health Primary Care. He is an adjunct assistant professor at Rocky Vista University and the University of Utah.
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