Letter | Why don’t Myrtle Beach medical doctors value our time?

Why don’t Myrtle Beach doctors value our time?

I frequently read that stress is not good for us seniors. Yet the biggest stress in my life has been caused by the medical profession in Myrtle Beach. Almost invariably, no matter if it is my primary care physician, my orthopedic, my dermatologist, or my ophthalmologist, I always get to enter the “inner sanctum” anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour after my appointment.

Then, once inside, after the nurse takes my blood pressure and my pulse, I usually wait another 20 minutes or more in one of the cubicles before I see the doctor. Recently, I took my wife to see the ophthalmologist for a routine checkup; it was more than two hours in the inner sanctum.

It is as if out time is not considered valuable.

I have another grievance. I asked for a prescription to be conveyed to my pharmacy for a pneumonia shot. I was told that it would be done. I went to the pharmacy two consecutive days and the prescription was not there. I finally drove to the doctor’s office and picked up the prescription personally.

Surely, with today’s computerization, all these physicians could do a better job of scheduling their patients and reduce the stress associated with our visits.

This story was originally published April 22, 2015 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Letter | Why don’t Myrtle Beach medical doctors value our time?."