I've always been a punctual fellow. My father raised me with the attitude that once you've committed to meet someone at a certain time, making them wait was extremely rude. Add on top of that attitude an impatience gained in the Navy where one is forced to wait for everything, and lateness has become a serious pet peeve of mine.

About a year ago, I was referred to an eye clinic for a glaucoma test. Naturally, I arrived early, because I didn't want to take a chance on missing an appointment and having to "go round" again. I appreciate that doctors are very busy, and I also appreciate that it is getting difficult for a clinic to even break even financially because of paperwork requirements. Eye problems are pretty standard for senior citizens, many of whom are on Medicare, so I have little doubt that an eye clinic has more than its share of paperwork.

I waited in perfectly-named "waiting room", patiently at first... read everything that looked the slightest bit interesting, then paced, read what was on the walls, went outside for a smoke, and returned to pace some more. There were maybe a dozen people waiting, mostly seniors. While I waited, at least one name was called that nobody answered to. Evidently, someone had given up and left.

At 30 minutes after the time of my scheduled appointment, I was called, and taken to an examination room, where I sat for ANOTHER 15 minutes. I had reached my limit. I was angry. I went to the front desk, gave them an emphatic but polite piece of my mind, swallowing each swear word as it threatened to come out, and then left. Naturally, I was talking to clerks and a nurse, not a doctor. They seemed shocked, giving the impression that my attitude was unusual. Can it be true that most other people put up with such delays without complaining?

Later that day, I got a phone call from a nurse at the clinic, offering to reschedule me for the first appointment the next day, and explaining that my doctor had an emergency that put her behind schedule. An eye clinic emergency? Really doesn't sound very likely, does it? Even if the emergency was real, there is no reason why the clinic staff couldn't phone patients and postpone their appointments, or at LEAST inform those who are arriving that they'll have a long wait.

Of course, the problem with waiting is that a little is ignorable, and the annoyance gradually increases. You expect that, at any minute you'll be called, so you wait a bit longer, and so forth. Once you've waited, you have more invested in the effort and get more reluctant to give up... and more irritated.

Doctors are in business like any other business, and their services are not cheap. They require that we make an appointment, fit into their schedule, and go to their offices. Aside from government offices, there aren't many sellers who can expect so much from their customers. Buying and selling services is a two-way street. It's supposed to benefit BOTH parties, who voluntarily agree to the transaction. Both are expending their time, which has value to each of them. There is no reason why the deal shouldn't be transacted on a "level playing field". If a store we patronize makes us wait too long, we're likely to change stores, because we're buying service as well as product. The same SHOULD be true when we're dealing with medical practitioners.

Unfortunately, there is a shortage of doctors. As you may already know, it's not because there is any shortage of people who want to become doctors; it's an artificial shortage caused by limited openings in medical schools, dictated by the American Medical Association. It's a way to protect the business of the doctors already in operation. So, with a shortage of doctors, we as customers do have limited choices. It would be inconvenient for me to find another eye clinic, make another appointment, and hope that my next experience would be better. Evidently that keeps most people from complaining when it happens to them.

As I ruminated about my experience, I came up with an idea. A big part of the problem is that patients don't know how long they may have to wait. If the waiting room is full, you may be suspicious, but you can't be sure. If I had known, when I walked in, that I would end up waiting for 45 minutes with no doctor in sight, I probably would have rescheduled, or I might have run some other errand and come back. Doing almost ANYTHING is preferable to just sitting and waiting.

There is no doubt in my mind that a clinic (this one had 5 doctors) CAN keep their appointments on schedule. That's their business. They do essentially the same thing with each patient, do it every day, and they should know how to do it well. The problem has to be that they simply don't think they HAVE to worry about it.

What I would like to see happen is for every patient, when they go to their appointment, be wearing a sticker or badge that clearly shows what time their appointment is. If we were all doing that small thing, you could look around the waiting room and KNOW how far behind schedule they are. It would also place the clinic staff on notice that you're not willing to just be a passive customer at their beck and call.

I created PLOP... Patients Losing Our Patience, bought a domain name, www.plop.us, and made a small website, built around this badge or label that can be used to let the health care provider know that we expect decent service.

It is not too much to ask of providers... it's simple courtesy and common business practice. If you're religious, it's the Golden Rule... do unto others, etc. I have a hunch that if enough of us were to take this small step and wear the badge or label, that it actually could get health care providers to begin to treat patients like the customers that we are. Remember, the customer is always right.

Next time you go to an appointment, give it a try and see what happens. It's possible that they think we just don't mind waiting, and waiting, and waiting. If so, why should they shape up. Sometimes little things can make a big difference.