The Reason Why Doctors Make You Wait

Now I know why doctors over-schedule their patients so that some are kept sitting in their offices for hours at a time. I learned the answer in a re-print of a newsletter from 1939.

According to a survey that had been done to support the building of a new hospital, an average of 1/3 of a doctor's time was wasted waiting for patients. I guess they decided that wasn't cost-effective, so it would be better if entire days were wasted by patients waiting to see doctors.

The report also mentioned that 4 out of 10 doctors did not keep up with the advances in medicine, and that medical care was the 6th largest industry in the U.s.

38% of small loans were made for the purpose of paying medical bills, but 20% of all doctor's bills were never paid.