To leave instead of waiting until my appointment

[Kate8889]

Context: US healthcare

I made an appointment the other day for cold symptoms with my doctor, they said I needed to show up 45 minutes early to get swabbed to test for flu/COVID etc.

I get there and they swab me, 40 minutes until my appointment. I go to leave and come back later (my house is very close by) and the nurse stops me and says I need to stay in that particular seat until the doctor is ready to see me. 40 minutes out of my day for no reason. I asked why I needed to wait exactly and she told me this was protocol but could give no reason.

I left and came back for my appointment and everything worked out fine. Was I out of line?

Could be that if you left and came back people might think you are skipping the queue/getting special treatment and give staff abuse.

We'd just go to the pharmacy, buy some Sudafed, take a couple of acetaminophen, and use a nasal rinse followed by a cold pack for a couple of days until the pain eased. Total cost about a tenner and zero time off work necessary.

Goady how? Its a very US specific question, none of the vastly overwhelming majority of UK readers care about how they organize appointments across the pond

A cold?! You got an appointment for a cold? What GP surgery was this??

Makes you realise that we’re lucky to live in a country where we don’t have to get so worked up about being desperate to get home to squeeze in 30 minutes work rather than sit and wait for the doctor.

So instead of

1. working from home, driving 4 mins to your appointment, waiting 45 and driving 4 minutes home, which you could do in your lunch hour, instead

1. You went to the office feeling shit, worked there, drove 20 mins to the doctor, drove another 4 minutes, worked for 30, drove 4 minutes and had your appointment, then went back to work again?

What prescription do they make you buy in the US for a cold? Here a doctor would refuse to see you at all for a cold. And you went out and came back and nobody cared. So yeah it was fine.

What an odd thread.

OP was prescribed steroids for sinus issues @BillieWiper.

It’s not really a US specific question though, is it?
OP was asked to wait for her medical appointment in the waiting room, she’s annoyed she was asked this and doesn’t understand why. This is the same case in the UK, you’re expected to turn up and wait for your appointment on the premises in the waiting room so you are available when the doctor is free. Common sense, no?

To be fair, I do wonder why people should be expected to wait in a&e for 12 hours if they could just be sent home for ten of those hours? I know there is an element of the unexpected but surely for something triaged as low priority on a busy shift there should be a certain element of predictability about a wait that some at least could be told to come back later.

She wasn't in A&E.

You’re very fortunate if your sinus infections always respond to this treatment. I’m a GP and frequently see patients with symptoms of sinusitis which are dragging on for weeks despite all appropriate OTC treatments; it’s not unusual for them to cry with frustration. Severe sinusitis is a really horrible thing.

But if that was the case, it would be better if she didn’t just stay in the waiting room, possibly spreading it to other people in a small space, possibly already unwell people? In fact, if she didn’t have anything, it would be better for not to be in a small space with other unwell people too?

American… you’re fine

That's not a cold then, is it?

If you're at the doctor's, you stay there until you're seen. You don't just randomly go home as you can't be arsed waiting for 40 minutes! Even if you live across the road or whatever.
YABU

I get seven weeks of vacation a year, 80 hours of sick time, 32 hours of personal time, plus I'm off for all federal holidays. That's the US for me.

It sounds like your doctor isn't very organized. My son had the flu last year, he went to the doctor, had his appointment, after the appointment the nurse swabbed him for the flu and COVID, and he left. He got the results an hour or so later in MyChart, and they sent a prescription to the pharmacy.

I agree, I've been having weekly hospital appointments lately and 40 minutes or longer isn't unusual! Sometimes you're seen immediately, others it's longer.

I always try to be as kind and cooperative with the medical professionals as I possibly can.

Believe me - they remember if you aren’t, and they tell the next guy and the next and the next ad nauseam.

I worked in a medical office - those people DO talk - trust me. But they only talk about the difficult patients.

So 5 minutes in the car both ways - the amount of work you could’ve done in 30 minutes doesn’t make sense when you could’ve taken a book or magazine (or even work) with you and waited at the doc’s.

Unless you’re Wonder Woman, but WW never needs prednisone.

im UK based. The 14 days - if you’re sick do they take that from your annual leave allowance?
I’ve always found the amount of time off in the US to be fascinating. Here it varies, but a standard would be 5-6 weeks - and it’s not unusual that if you’re ill during annual leave you can claim that time back.
i can’t get my head around the difference in European work/life balance and that in the US.

see also maternity leave.

oh plus you’d see a GP free at the point of need.

this is a bloody good example of how lucky we are in the UK.

“Devils tic-tac”

yes, this!

and also, hope you’re feeling better OP. Sinusitis is indeed horrible

Sinusitis is foul, prednisone is a huge help. I can't understand why you're being given a hard time here. I would imagine part of it is that people aren't understanding employment in the US - it's brutal, with very limited time off for health issues and two weeks annual leave.

I’m curious as to why it took 45 minutes to get the results of a covid and flu test. If you’d had sinusitis for 4 weeks, why were they even swabbing for a viral infection?

@Kate8889 if you're certain that you were reasonable in this case, why the need to post at all?