How do you all handle late patients? I work in a peds clinic where there are a fair amount of chronically late patients, not 5 minutes late, but more like 15-20 minutes late. They never apologize, or acknowledge that they are late at all. The MDs don't really care - they think of it as income no matter what time the patient arrives, so we have no official late policy. Additionally, it is difficult to make them reschedule because sometimes the patients are there for a sick visit and have to be seen, or they are well-baby checks and we typically schedule 4-6 weeks out, especially in the summer. Lateness is my #1 pet peeve, and I hate the fact that people are entitled enough to think that their time is more precious than anybody else's. If one person is 15 minutes late for their sick visit and we have to see them, the next scheduled patient who shows up on time will not be seen until 15 minutes later. I wish there was a good way to indicate to these parents that they are late, and it is just plain rude and will now make everyone else behind.
Does anyone have a good zinger to lay on these patients?
