After my first major hospitalization, I added a number of medical specialists to my payroll. One of those was a Nephrologist (kidney doctor). He was added while I was in the hospital, so I had followup visits scheduled as part of my discharge.
On my first visit to his office, I had a 1:00appointment. They requested I be there an hour early to take care of various paperwork. I was actually there a little before 12PM. Signed in, got the paperwork, completed it and returned it to the desk. Took a seat.
The day wore on with patients coming and going. At some point after my scheduled appointment, I asked when I would see the doctor. They said he was running behind due to having been at the hospital in the morning. So I sat back down. Even took a short nap.
A couple who had arrived after my appointment time was called in and they asked if I shouldn't be ahead of them. The nurse said that they would get to me soon. Sure!
At 4:30, one of the nurses came out to lock the door in preparation for closing the office for the day. Oh, she was so surprised to see me sitting there. Even wanted to know what time my appointment was. Well, they held the doctor over to do a rush-through office visit with me. They were even courteous enough to waive my copay of $40 to compensate me for the long wait.
Upon leaving, I scheduled my next monthly appointment. I was there the next month at the appropriate time and was called into the exam room in a much more reasonable amount of time. But I sat in there for nearly an hour before the doctor came in.
When I checked out, they told me that I owed them for my first visit copay. I polinted out a particular young lady sitting at a desk over to the side who had waived the copay due to my extremely long wait. The nurse replied that the girl didn't have authority and I owed them $80. I paid it, set up my next month's appointment and left.
I know! Dummy! But I needed a kidney doctor. But the next month I wised up. After waiting in the exam room for 45 minutes, the doctor opened the door, peered in, closed the door and it was another half hour before he came back. When I left, I walked right past the nurse's station without a word, made no new appointment, wrote no checks for a copay. Never returned and refused to pay the bills I received for the unpaid copay.