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Late to your medical appointment? Here’s one doctor’s advice.

With patient care moving in a more service-focused direction, there are more options than just losing the appointment time entirely if you're late.

Traffic and weather being unpredictable, even the most organized patient can find themselves late for a medical appointment.
Traffic and weather being unpredictable, even the most organized patient can find themselves late for a medical appointment.Read moreiStockphoto (custom credit)

This is probably a familiar story – you leave with plenty of time to make that 9 a.m. doctor’s appointment, but there’s a light out on a main road, then comes a railroad crossing, then a lane closure and, before you know it you’re just pulling into the office parking lot at 9:15 a.m. What happens when you arrive at the check-in desk is unpredictable; you may be escorted right into an exam room, or asked to reschedule your appointment — multiplying what already was a series of frustrations.

If you’re someone who occasionally arrives late to medical appointments, you’re not alone. So what are your options? The first is to find out if your doctor’s office has a policy on late arrivals. Many practices have an extended grace period; if you arrive within that time you will definitely have your full scheduled visit. If the office does not have a late arrivals policy, this is a great idea for the suggestion box, or a topic to bring to the practice’s Patient-Family Advisory Council (PFAC).

Keep in mind that, with patient care moving in a more service-focused direction, there may be other options besides visit or no-visit. If you are flexible regarding who you see, you can ask if another provider is available if yours is not. You may also be able to wait, or return for an opening later in the day, which of course depends on your own schedule constraints. If there is no provider available for a full visit, some practices may have a nurse or medical assistant who can sit with you and discuss what you hoped to accomplish during your visit. Some simple goals like prescription refills or referrals can be handled without a full visit, so at least your time will not be entirely unproductive.

Many doctor’s offices realize that late arriving patients are most often due to unexpected circumstances, not because of poor planning. We also are sensitive to the fact that, even when on-time for an appointment, patients are often asked to wait. One of our challenges is to find better ways to keep patients informed when their provider is running late due to emergencies. If you and your practice get creative, unforeseen mishaps like this can occasionally be made win-win.

Jeffrey Millstein, MD, is a primary-care physician and patient experience champion for Clinical Care Associates of Penn Medicine.