Staying on time

I’m an on-time nut. I’ve never understood doctors who routinely run way behind schedule. At my first job there were one to two guys who were notorious for waits in the 2- to 3-hour range.

I’m a fanatic. My schedule is structured to allow a decent amount of time for patients, and I work on other things (drug refills, nurses’ questions, test results) in the extra minutes where they happen. Granted, there are still rare emergencies (having to run to the hospital, or an unexpected patient issue) that are beyond my control, but most days I’m able to keep things running on time (give or take 5 minutes). If patients show up early, and I have time to see them, I see them. The extra time will always be needed later for something else.

From watching other doctors during training and at my first job, I came away feeling that the majority of running behind was preventable, and was primarily caused by a handful of factors:

• Time spent chatting with staff/colleagues about nonmedical issues (weekend camping, politics, last night’s baseball game).

• Cramming in far more patients in the schedule than can realistically be seen.

• Endlessly adding on anyone who calls in demanding to be seen that day.

• Other personal junk: phone calls, surfing the Internet, etc.

There will always be emergencies and circumstances we can’t control that interfere with our schedules. But after 14 years of running pretty close to on time, I’m glad that I keep my day controlled. I like it, the patients like it, and having predictable hours is nice. I like knowing what time I can leave each day, and then doing it.

Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz. E-mail him at [email protected].

I’m an on-time nut. I’ve never understood doctors who routinely run way behind schedule. At my first job there were one to two guys who were notorious for waits in the 2- to 3-hour range.

I’m a fanatic. My schedule is structured to allow a decent amount of time for patients, and I work on other things (drug refills, nurses’ questions, test results) in the extra minutes where they happen. Granted, there are still rare emergencies (having to run to the hospital, or an unexpected patient issue) that are beyond my control, but most days I’m able to keep things running on time (give or take 5 minutes). If patients show up early, and I have time to see them, I see them. The extra time will always be needed later for something else.

From watching other doctors during training and at my first job, I came away feeling that the majority of running behind was preventable, and was primarily caused by a handful of factors:

• Time spent chatting with staff/colleagues about nonmedical issues (weekend camping, politics, last night’s baseball game).

• Cramming in far more patients in the schedule than can realistically be seen.

• Endlessly adding on anyone who calls in demanding to be seen that day.

• Other personal junk: phone calls, surfing the Internet, etc.

There will always be emergencies and circumstances we can’t control that interfere with our schedules. But after 14 years of running pretty close to on time, I’m glad that I keep my day controlled. I like it, the patients like it, and having predictable hours is nice. I like knowing what time I can leave each day, and then doing it.

Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz. E-mail him at [email protected].

I’m an on-time nut. I’ve never understood doctors who routinely run way behind schedule. At my first job there were one to two guys who were notorious for waits in the 2- to 3-hour range.

I’m a fanatic. My schedule is structured to allow a decent amount of time for patients, and I work on other things (drug refills, nurses’ questions, test results) in the extra minutes where they happen. Granted, there are still rare emergencies (having to run to the hospital, or an unexpected patient issue) that are beyond my control, but most days I’m able to keep things running on time (give or take 5 minutes). If patients show up early, and I have time to see them, I see them. The extra time will always be needed later for something else.

From watching other doctors during training and at my first job, I came away feeling that the majority of running behind was preventable, and was primarily caused by a handful of factors:

• Time spent chatting with staff/colleagues about nonmedical issues (weekend camping, politics, last night’s baseball game).

• Cramming in far more patients in the schedule than can realistically be seen.

• Endlessly adding on anyone who calls in demanding to be seen that day.

• Other personal junk: phone calls, surfing the Internet, etc.

There will always be emergencies and circumstances we can’t control that interfere with our schedules. But after 14 years of running pretty close to on time, I’m glad that I keep my day controlled. I like it, the patients like it, and having predictable hours is nice. I like knowing what time I can leave each day, and then doing it.

Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz. E-mail him at [email protected].