10:35 a.m.,
Oct. 09, 2002
So yesterday I went to my local Planned Parenthood for some health-related manners, and I was completely struck by its inefficiency.
So my appointment is at 5:30 and I get there right at 5:25 because I couldn't find parking. I drop my ID at the door, check in at the desk and then read a four-month-old issue of Glamour for the next 25 minutes, after which I am called in back, weighed and shot up. The nurse notes that I have good delts, although I am dismayed to learn I've gained six pounds. (She tells me it's nothing to worry about).
So then I am sent back to the waiting room to be called to the pay area. I wait another five minutes and then go back to give them my $80. I ask for a receipt, so my company flex plan will re-imburse me, and the woman stared at me as if I had asked her to stand on her head and do jumping jacks.
Then I am sent back into the waiting room to wait for my receipt. Five minutes later, I am allowed to leave. It is 6:10.
So time spent actually preparing for, receiving and paying for shot: 10 minutes.
Time spent sitting in waiting room: 35 minutes.
I mean, they're a great organization and I'm glad they're there, but I certainly had other things to do with those 35 minutes than sit in a lovely IKEA chair and read old women's magazines.
It just goes to show that delays and unnecessary waiting occurs whether you're going to the big corporate HMO doctor or the non-profit one.
At least I am helping the world by waiting around for this one.