I specialize in treating chronic pain.  I see many patients who have been to other offices and it surprises me what patients will accept when it comes to customer service.  I am appalled that patients are given only a few minutes to be seen after waiting 1-2 hours.  Their complaints are not addressed and they are are sent on their way and told to come back in 4 weeks.  This is unacceptable but until patients demand better this will not change.

Frequently I will ask patients if they went to a restaurant and had to wait an hour to be seen, then had to wait to be have their order taken and the food was terrible would they go back.  They uniformly reply that they would not return to that restaurant.  Why is it that they continue to go back to these offices that make them wait and don't listen to their complaints?

I have become more and more dedicated to trying to get patients to become better consumers and demand better care.  One of the reasons medical care has become more expensive is that health care providers would rather spend less time with a patient and order a test then sit and talk with the patient and figure out their problem.  It is much easier to spend 2 minutes and order an MRI then spend 20-30 minutes and not need the MRI.  Unfortunately patients are not demanding this from their health care providers.