I came to the Moore Eye Institute when I was a teenager, about ten years ago, for a routine eye exam. I was there for three hours, most of my time spent in the waiting room, which was packed with people. As you can imagine, I haven't gone back.
Fast forward a decade: My mom made an appointment here for herself. It's closer to home than where she normally goes, hence making it more quick and convenient to get to and from. We didn't forget our experience from the first/last time, but we had hoped that in ten years, they had worked the kinks out.
Yea, no.
We arrived to a packed waiting room, just as I remembered it. If it weren't for the Moore Eye Institute sign on the door, you'd think you had stepped into the ER. I sat down in one of the few empty chairs and waited as mom checked in. During this time, a woman sitting across from me with her elderly mother said, "I'm not happy. We're leaving." The mother responded, "I don't blame you. We've been waiting two hours." This immediately confirmed that nothing had changed.
My mom's appointment was for 1:30. We were surprised when they called her back at 1:40. That's pretty prompt for them. I stayed in the waiting room... waiting... and waiting... 2:30 rolled around and I overheard another woman tell her companion that her appointment time was for 12:30 and she hadn't been seen yet. At the same time, my mother sent me a text from the exam room that she had been waiting in for 50 minutes now, saying that she was still waiting to see the doctor.
3:00 rolls around... Mom texts me from the exam room again to tell me that she's STILL waiting for the doctor to come in. At this point, she was called back an hour and twenty minute ago. Another text at 3:20. Still waiting.
I texted her to say that I was going to stretch my legs in the lobby and wait for her out there. The waiting room was dim, filled with grumpy people (rightfully so), and I needed a change of scenery.
Finally, at about 3:45, my very frustrated mother came out and exclaimed that we were never returning here. She told me she had waited ten minutes just to check out. Her last text to me at 3:20 said she was still waiting for the doctor. She came out at 3:45, which means the doctor only spent ten to fifteen minutes with her. She was told everything was fine and her prescription is still the same.
I would have walked out myself after waiting more than an hour. Doctors want to charge a fee if you're late to your appointment, but it makes more sense to me for the patient to bill *them* for the time that was wasted.
The doctors, nurses, and receptionists were all very nice, but unfortunately, after such a frustrating experience, that doesn't mean much. read more