I wonder if he will pay me. Here lies another one of my pet peeves in life (ok, maybe it’s not necessary to discuss all my pet peeves): doctors who cannot be on time. I have a 15-minute rule by which if the doctor does not see me within 15 minutes of my appointed time I reschedule and then send them a bill for my time.

I know the theory that they are saving lives and all that blather but is it too much to ask someone in the doctor’s office to pick up the phone and call me? All I need is a “the doctor’s running late” phone call—that would be perfectly acceptable to me and most other folks that I have spoken with about this.

So I’m sure you wonder if anybody has actually paid me? Of course not, those folks are way too cheap. But I have gotten several calls of apology from those offending folks and that in and of itself is worth the money.

I know that with the state of medicine today none of these “offenders” care if I go find another doctor—and by the way I have done that twice, but it’s point of principle with me. If I’m going to be late, which hardly ever happens, I call in advance. It’s the courteous thing to do. Who would ever think that big-time doctors could learn from a guy in the advertising industry?

There is new trend in medicine today called Concierge Doctors and it’s about doctors who are going out on their own and signing up clients for a flat fee to be available when needed, 24/7 (http://physiciansnews.com/business/204.kalogredis.html). The fee is not covered by insurance but any tests and other related activities are. So the bonus is more time with the doctor and less chance of being stuck in a waiting room. Hey I might just look into it. At the very least it would most likely lower my blood pressure.