Seems like most of my time is WAITING TO SEE HIM and minimal face to face time. It's just my PC doc, the others are OK.
For many years, I saw only naturopathic doctors. Their appointments are an hour long. Now I see an MD who doesn't take insurance of any kind. Her appointments are also an hour, and if I don't feel like driving two towns away to get there, she's happy to do the appt on a Zoom like app. I don't see the point in having an HMO type doctor who never listens and barely gives you enough time to list all your complaints.
I had an appointment with my oncologist today; the meeting was 35 minutes. Included exam, review of test results, suggestions for mitigating chemo effects, and upcoming treatment... all interspersed with a bit of humor. He's an excellent doctor. I was his 3rd appointment of the day and I waited less than 10 minutes.
Last time I saw my doctor (last Monday), I had my choice of 3 time slots for a next-day appointment, so he was not rushed. But he's on a computer system and types as I speak. He glances over every once in a while, but I try to not talk as he types. He cannot do both at once. I really don't like it, but he's a corporate employee. My last doctor fixed the "always in a rush problem." He joined a program called MDVIP. This was around 2005. MDVIP is a concierge program. You pay a fee of $100/month (at the time) to be one of his patients. This fee covers the cost of an annual Executive Physical (and it was extensive, to include proprietary blood analysis.) Beyond that, you paid for routine care the normal ways (insurance, out-of-pocket, whatever.) In exchange, he contractually limits himself to something like 600 or 900 patients, I forget the exact figure. I do recall he had been carrying a load of over 2,400 patients. So now he still gets compensated via the annual fees (administered by MDVIP), he gets to practice the even-paced type of medicine he has always wanted to, and his patients get on-time unrushed service. I only joined because I had been with the guy for many years and I hate changing doctors. If my insurance plan changed and he was out-of-network, I would still go to him for care and just pay the difference. So I figured I'd give it a shot for a year to see how I liked it. It worked out well. I liked the guy so much that after I moved 100 miles away, I stayed on the program and drove back for him to do my annual physical. This continued for 4 years until he retired. I was glad to see him finish the last years of his career as a happy medical professional camper. Now I'm back with the unwashed masses. When he first joined MDVIP, I did a little research. The concierge/retainer concept had been a long-established thing out on the west coast. I recall reading back in 2005 that some doctors commanded an annual retainer of $24,000. When I moved here in 2010 there was only one MDVIP-member doctor in the region (maybe 45 miles away.) Now there are a handful, the closest of which is maybe 20 miles away or so. There are reasons I've not switched to one of them.
Sorry @Lon Tanner I'm just now seeing this question. Yes ALL 60. My current MD doesn't even have a reception desk. She meet you at her office door. One of my NDs came to my home for a while, others also had no reception desk / receptionist. I really prefer that kind of personal, direct care.
Seldom more than a few minutes, unless I arrive early. As for how long I am with my doctor, that depends on what's going on. If it's an annual checkup, it won't take very long.
Depends. When COVID was in full swing and they were spacing patients, I'd get in right away. Now that things have relaxed and the unwashed masses have been released, the wait is half an hour or longer for my GP. I had to see a foot doctor a while ago, and he took me in an hour after my appointed time. When I came back for follow-up after the MRI, he took me in right on time. I remind myself that if we had socialized medicine my wait time would be months and not minutes. That always helps.
No more than about 30 minutes. After that I leave and sometimes have found another doctor. I once had serious surgery and went for a follow-up on a Friday. The doctor was stuck in the hospital and I waited and waited. I finally gave up and told the receptionist that if he wanted to talk to me, he could call me. He did -- at 6:30 that night. I had an oral surgeon who saw me for four follow-ups (the surgery had been done under general anesthesia in a hospital). He was a half-hour late for the pre-surgical and first post-surgical visits. I told the receptionist I'd be there for the other three, but I'd be a half-hour late -- and I was; and he was ready for me. I completely walked out on a dermatologist and a cardiologist and found new doctors. Etc. My time is just as valuable as theirs.
The nurse usually does the obligatory wight height bp and then a10 minute wait for him. I had a friend who placed a value on her time. When her doctor was late for the appointment she billed him for the time she waited. She also would not eat in a new restaurant unless she got a tour of the kitchen.
Our Doctor for more than 20 years just retired. He always took as much time as needed to answer any concerns. Two weeks ago I went to one of the Doctors he recommended and she spent nearly an hour getting to know me, asking questions, and answering questions I had. I was very pleased with her. My wife's cardio Doctor we rarely see at all. His Nurse Practitioner is the one we always see. She always spends plenty of time with us too.