A message to my Congressman

[Tommy]

I've reached the point in life where doctor visits are not uncommon, and it annoys the hell out of me to be sitting in a small, dull room a full hour after my scheduled appointment time. I've reached the point where I will not wait more than 45 minutes unless it is to see a one-of-a-kind doctor. With that in mind, I wrote and sent the following message to my Congressman via his web site. If you agree with my sentiments, I encourage you to copy it and send it to your elected officials and friends who might agree. If not, you must be a doctor.

As long as the health care reform bill is being reconsidered, I'd like to suggest the following no cost change that should dramatically improve service for patients. I suggest the bill require health care providers who receive federal payments (e.g., Tricare and Medicare) be required to monitor and prominently post their most recent average monthly waiting time for patients. For example, if the average patient was actually seen by the doctor an average of 75 minutes after their scheduled appointment time, that information should be posted prominently. This would give patients valuable information when selecting a health care provider and would encourage providers to improve their customer service.