Waiting time at the doctor

20, 30 or 40 minutes: In many German medical practices, it is expected to wait to see the doctor despite an appointment. It is not uncommon for patients to even have to put up with relatively long waiting times. But why is that? And what waiting time is reasonable for a patient? We will provide extensive information on the usually tiresome topic of “waiting time at the doctor’s”.

Longer waiting times are standard.

If you go to the doctor in Germany, you should have plenty of time. Waiting times of between 15 and 30 minutes are not uncommon, even for appointments that have been made. However, such waiting times are considered reasonable. If you have to wait longer than 30 minutes despite having an appointment, a doctor’s assistant should inform you of the reason for the delay.

No doctor can plan every single treatment down to the minute. You should calculate waiting times around 20 minutes from the outset for every doctor’s visit. In practices with open consultation hours – i.e. without an appointment – you also have to be prepared for longer waiting times.

The waiting times are usually short if a medical practice is well organized. But even here, bottlenecks can occur from time to time. It would help if you understood this because emergencies often cause delays.

 

Who has to wait for an appointment?

A doctor must treat Life-threatening emergencies immediately, even without an appointment. If he cannot complete the treatment, he must arrange a replacement. The doctor should be able to find time on the same day for acute cases that are not life-threatening but still need to be treated promptly. However, patients should be prepared to wait here.

Appointments will be made in advance for necessary treatments but can be postponed. Such therapies include mild back or knee pain. Getting an appointment within a few days or weeks should usually be possible. If it is impossible to make an appointment with a specialist within a reasonable period, you can contact your health insurance company.

Use waiting time wisely.

Before each doctor’s appointment, you should be prepared for a short or medium-long waiting period. You can take a book or magazine with you to better use the waiting time, for example. If a long waiting time is foreseeable from the beginning, you can also agree with the practice staff that you can run a few errands in the meantime.

If you go to the doctor with young children, it is best to have something to eat and drink for the child. Many practices now offer toys for children – but you should still have your child’s favourite toy with you, just in case.

 

save trouble

Often, the annoyance associated with longer waiting times at the doctor’s is not only caused by the waiting time itself. The accompanying circumstances also usually play a role. To avoid trouble, you should, therefore, observe the following advice:

• If you then have a necessary appointment, it is best to point this out to the medical assistant right at the beginning. This way, you won’t be pressed for time later.
• If you are suffering from severe pain, you should also address this at the beginning. You should point this out again if you still have to wait a long time.

If your doctor often leaves you stewing in the waiting room for longer, you should consider changing doctors. If you usually have to wait hours for hours, you can also report the case to your health insurance company.

damages

Patients can sue for damages in very long waiting times; however, the procedure is quite complicated. A one-off long waiting time is not sufficient for a claim for damages. Instead, the patient has to prove that poor organization often leads to very long waiting times in the practice concerned. He must also show that he has suffered demonstrable damage due to the long waiting period.

Doctors can also sue their patients for damages if they don’t attend their appointments on time or don’t cancel them on time. However, a claim can only be made when the doctor cannot give preference to another patient and suffers damage. This is the case, for example, with psychotherapists, who schedule half an hour or forty-five minutes for each patient or with a more extended treatment at the dentist.

Final tip: Make an appointment right at the start of the day. This reduces the risk of having to wait.