20, 30 or 40 minutes: That you have to wait at the doctor’s despite an appointment is the rule in many German medical practices. Not infrequently, patients even have to put up with relatively long waiting times. But why is that? And what waiting time is still reasonable for a patient? We inform you extensively around the mostly vexed topic “waiting time at the doctor”.
Longer waiting times are normal
Who goes to the doctor in Germany, should bring time: Because even with agreed appointments, waiting times of between 15 and 30 minutes are not uncommon. However, such waiting times are considered reasonable. If you have to wait longer than 30 minutes despite an appointment, a physician’s assistant should inform you of the reason for the delay. No doctor can plan every single treatment down to the minute. You should therefore allow for waiting times of around 20 minutes for each visit to the doctor from the outset. In practices with open consultation hours – i.e. without an appointment – you must also be prepared for longer waiting times. If a doctor’s office is well organized, waiting times are usually relatively short. But even here, bottlenecks can occur from time to time. You should have understanding for this, because delays are often caused by emergencies.
Who has to wait for an appointment?
In the case of life-threatening emergencies, the rule is that they must be treated immediately by the doctor even without an appointment. If he cannot provide the treatment himself, he must arrange for a substitute. For acute cases that are not life-threatening, but still need to be treated promptly, the doctor should find time on the same day. However, patients should be prepared to wait here. For treatments that are necessary but can be postponed, appointments are made in advance. Such treatments include mild back or knee pain, for example. It should usually be possible to get an appointment within a few days or weeks. If it is not possible to make an appointment with a specialist within a reasonable period of time, you can contact your health insurance company.
Use waiting time wisely
Before any doctor’s appointment, be prepared for a short or medium-length wait. To make better use of the waiting time, you can pick up a book or magazine, for example. If a long wait is foreseeable from the start, you can also arrange with the office staff to run a few errands in the meantime. If you go to the doctor with small children, it is best to have something to eat and drink for the child. Many practices now offer toys for children – but you should still have the child’s favorite toy with you, just in case.
Save trouble
Often, the trouble associated with longer waiting times at the doctor’s office is not only caused by the waiting time itself. The accompanying circumstances often play a role as well. To avoid trouble, you should therefore follow the following advice:
- If you have an important appointment afterwards, it is best to point this out to the doctor’s assistant right at the beginning. So you do not get later under time pressure.
- If you suffer from severe pain, you should also address this at the beginning. If you are still kept waiting a long time, you should again point out.
If it happens more often that your doctor makes you stew longer in the waiting room, you should think about changing doctors. In the case of more frequent waiting for hours, you can also report the case to your health insurance company.
Compensation
In the case of very long waiting times, patients can sue for damages – however, the procedure is quite complicated. A single long waiting time is not sufficient for a claim for damages. Rather, the patient must prove that very long waiting times occur more frequently in the practice concerned due to poor organization. He must also show that he has suffered demonstrable damage as a result of the long waiting time. Doctors can also sue their patients for damages if they do not show up on time for their appointments or do not cancel them in time. However, a claim can only be made in situations where the doctor cannot give preference to another patient and thus suffers damage. This is the case, for example, with psychotherapists who schedule half an hour or three quarters of an hour for each patient, or with a longer treatment at the dentist.Final tip: If possible, get an appointment right at the beginning of the day. This reduces the risk of having to wait.