Waiting for the Doctor
I had a second visit to SOAR (Sports Orthopedic and Rehabilitation) this week to check on my back, which had been in quite a lot of pain. A friend had recommend this clinic, and Dr. Joel Saal in particular. After arriving early, checking in, and then going to an exam room, I then waited 40 minutes in a windowless, magazine-less tiny room for the doctor to arrive. Outside I heard things like "Is Dr. Saal here yet?" "Tell him to go right to room #2 when he gets here", etc.
Normally I wouldn't use this forum to complain about this sort of thing. Except this is a private clinic which can manage their patient load; and this was the second time the same thing happened; and when I asked if a 40 minute wait (past the scheduled appointment time) was acceptable, three nurses all grimaced and noded their heads with sad looks on their faces, saying "did you tell Dr. Saal? You should tell him." Apparently this is normal, patients are complaining, and it's not getting through to the right person. At one point, one of the staff mentioned that they didn't know what to do about this problem.
A long time ago, I read (or at least skimmed) Gallwey's The Inner Game of Tennis. I think I remember one lesson from that book (but it could have been another) about just relaxing and observing a single important factor, rather than thinking carefully through the task and trying to get all of the sub-details right. I think a follow-on book discussed this exact situation -- patients complaining about long waits (past the appointment time) at a medical office. The "solution" proposed was simple: just write down the amount of time each and every patients is made to wait. Eventually the problem took care of itself. I hope SOAR can apply this or some other lesson, but on my next visit, I'll be sure to bring a book!
Categories: life
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Comments (3)
David Creemer on Tuesday 20 September, 2005:
Jay Silver on Friday 22 February, 2008:
Dean Moyer on Wednesday 07 September, 2005:
I came across your blog while searching for more info on Dr Saal and SOAR. I had a similar experience taking my mother to an orthopedic surgeon about a year ago for a broken shoulder. Typical wait was 40 minutes or more. Very frustrating.
I'm curious to know what you thought of Dr Saal's treatment methods as I have a similar philosophy towards treating back pain and I've run across his name while doing research on non-surgical treatment for herniated discs.
Did he use physical therapy with you? Was it successful? Did you have bulging discs by any chance?
The reason I'm so curious is that my approach in rebuilding my own back was a very slow and gentle process whereas I believe Dr Saal uses a more aggressive technique.
Perhaps you could post a little more about your experience with SOAR and whether or not you would recommend it?
Nice website by the way,
Dean