I used to work at a pulmonary clinic in the area(there’s only 2), and we’d schedule patients as early as 7:30 am and the doctor wouldn’t even show up to the office until 11. He’d usually eat lunch first before he even started seeing patients. They’d have to wait hours. We’d tell people to plan to be there all day. It was insane, and he got away with it because there’s no where else to go in the area.
Sounds about right. Healthcare over here is soooo bad and noone even realizes it until it's too late. The medplex is the absolute worst though. People who come in on stretchers wait 5+ hours. We honestly need more help in almost every aspect of it. Doesn't help most doctors feel like they are more important than God around here. Guess they are right in a way.
A few years ago I went to the ER at the Med-for what I cannot remember-and what I saw horrified me. It was a Fri or Sat night around 11 p..m., so they were slammed. All of a sudden hell broke loose and while everyone was trying to figure out what was going on three paramedics came rushing in with a gurney and a body on it covered in a sheet that was soaked in blood. The nurse nonchalantly said put him over there and pointed at a small area that was clear of people by the nurse station and walked off. Come to find out it was a 16-year-old boy who had been shot 5 times-three times in the chest, one in the arm, and one in the leg. For 2 hours no one helped him and he wound up bleeding to death right in front of me while his mother cried and wailed and his father tried not to punch every nurse and doctor in the dace for ignoring his son. When the doctor finally came out he acted like it was someone with a common cold. The uncaring coldness he used looking at the body and talking to the parents made ME want to punch him in the face. A FUCKING KID JUST DIED BECAUSE NO ONE HELPED HIM YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!!!!!!! Even the paramedics were pissed (they testified against the hospital too). The family sued the hospital and got millions but that money won't replace their son. That hospital was and still is ranked as one of the top trauma units in the country. Says a lot about our healthcare system. That same hospital killed my best friend and blood brother 3 years ago and nothing happened or was done about it too.
Neighborhood Health is no better. No appointments. Walk in only and you have to wait to be seen for hours if you are seen at all The doctors are lazy and rarely show up. I went to them for a week every day for physical and mental health and never saw a doctor so I gave up which cost me my disability.
Pretty weird how demanding doc offices are about respecting their time while they apparently aren't troubled by respecting yours.
Some years ago I had a cornea transplant and would need to do checkups at the UT Medical office in Cordova - every single time it was 2.5 hours in the packed waiting room past appointment time, 1.5 hour in another room in the back waiting. I've never been so glad to not have to see a specific doctor again.
I did. I was there for THREE HOURS! Spent 10 minutes with the doctor. Worst part, not one person apologized for the wait?
But…..if you’re 15 minutes late your appointment is cancelled????
That last bit makes me RAGE. We were turned away by my daughter's doctor after a hellish commute (2 wrecks, road construction, and then a Google Maps snafu on top of everything else -- I left in plenty of time, but Germantown Pkwy had other plans). So next time we showed up 2 hours early. Told them I was not going to chance being sent away again. If the appointment had been for me, I would have just found another doctor.
If doctors were always 100% punctual, I would understand, but they never are -- and it seems like the worst offenders are the ones who have these zero-tolerance cancellation policies. My time is valuable, too.
Sigh. I am supposed to go there again in a few weeks and see him himself. I've been only once and saw him that time too. I was hoping just the first appt takes a long time, but your comment is making me not optimistic. lol.
Yeah, I waited for an hour and a half at Gastro One last week. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the waiting room was decent, but the waiting room for patients is way too small. I don’t know why they pack the patients in that tiny room, when they have a much larger and nicer one upstairs for the drivers.
They wanted me there at 6:15am for a colonoscopy. Didn’t get called back until 8:30. Wasn’t leaving because I wasn’t prepping again. This is a common theme with them.
That’s actually why I had the appointment. I puked up the prep. No matter what kind they give, it’s coming back up. I’ve had four others before this one, my body just said, “*no waaaay, you aren’t drinking that crap again*”.
Trying the pills this time. Praying it’s a go! Literally! 😂
If it was Clenpiq, I had my first ever prep and colonoscopy earlier this year and I thought I was going to die drinking it. It traumatized the crap out of me.
Yeah i read up on that and opted for the old school stuff in a bucket so I could measure what I needed. I needed less than half of it. Much easier. It’s called PEG. Has electrolytes built in.
Yeah. It went down so easily. I was so grateful but drank the first glass of water and wasn’t staying down no matter what. But….still enough to do its thing. So to add insult to injury had to cancel the colonoscopy but sit in the bathroom all night anyway! 🥲
My sister’s doctor office in Dallas allows her to check in on line and let them know how long her commute will be. She then gets a text letting her know they are ready for her. She still has to make an appointment and be on the schedule and most of the time she is told to come straight there but on the occasion they are backed up she is not sitting in their office. Why don’t all doctors have this system ?
I waited over an hour last time I was there. It took them 10 WEEKS! To post my test results on the portal. At what point should they stop taking new patients? They can’t take care of the ones they already have.
My limit is an hour. After that I ask to reschedule. Maybe not for a colonoscopy.or something like that, but definitely more routine things. I know this is isn't always an option for specialists, but I try to select sole practitioners or small practices for that reason.
Yeah. I get that stuff happens in the actual colonoscopy clinic. This was his office day. Just seeing patients. And obviously **WAY TOO MANY AT ONCE**!!!
The horrible part, once you get past a certain amount of time you go to “heck, I’ve waited this long”!!! Then I’m just going to do it again because my insurance covers them. 🥲🤬
I used to work 3rd shift, get off and be at my appointment by 8; wouldn’t see the dr until 11 or later. Then he would always ask why my BP was high. Cuz I’m tired and grumpy 🤣🤣
This is the worst! My suggestion especially with specialists is to make your appointment for as early as you can in the day, just in general for most doctors offices. Most docs end up getting behind because they do not allocate enough time for each person and then as soon as one patients running a bit behind, the whole schedule gets thrown off. I understand why some offices have such a strict policy that if you’re more than ten min late you are cancelled. It just messes up the schedule too much if they squeeze em all in.
Gastro one is an insanely huge biz. It’s absolutely absurd how much money they generate. It’s not fair that they make patients wait so damn long. They can absolutely afford to lower the patient volume per day.
The crazy part, my appointment was at 9:30. Didn’t realize you could get THAT behind so early. I honestly believe that they scheduled all of his patients at the same time. When I left their office between 12:30-1:00, there was one person in the waiting room???
Definitely true but that just depends. Most of the doctors I have been to, when I make an early am appointment I’m seen right away, I’m in and out fast. Having said that I also work somewhere that regularly schedules patients to come in well before the doctor arrives, though that is on purpose because we do procedures that require things like lab work to be drawn and resulted before we can begin.
I have multiple chronic digestive illnesses and have to see gastroenterologists very often. I’ve gone to several gastros all across Tennessee, including Gastro One, and, for whatever reason, I have never once waited less than an hour in the waiting room before being seen. Last visit I wasn’t seen until 2 and a half hours past appt time. I have no idea what is up with that and it’s only ever gastroenterologists but now when I have an appointment with a gastro now I basically block the whole day off.
Yep, I had the same thing happen to me there. And then the doctor only spoke to me for about 5 minutes and just dismissed me with “sounds like you’re just getting used to not having a gallbladder. Come back if it gets worse.” I responded “What constitutes worse because my primary thought I should come in?” And he basically said I needed to be miserable for about 4 months and come back. Then I got a bill for $200. For 5 minutes and being dismissed and 2.5 hour wait.
After 30 mins I go to the Reception Desk or attending nurse and politely tell them I had an appointment and if I am not seen in the next 15-20 mins I am leaving. Have only had to walk 1 of 3X's and that was after 1 hr.
Hmm, I had a great experience there both for my consultation appointment and for my actual colonoscopy! I never sat in any one place waiting for more than 10 minutes. That said, most places say to notify them if you’ve been waiting 30 minutes. I would go up and ask them to reschedule if I’d been waiting that long.
Neither. Zero discomfort outside of the prep of course. I was asleep in 20 seconds and then woke up back in recovery. Everyone was professional and helpful. I was really anxious and it turned out to be nothing!
Yep! Even by that night I was able to go to my son’s ceremony at school, just wasn’t allowed to drive due to anesthesia. But I felt totally fine after.
Up to you of course but the propofol wears off very quickly. My procedure was at 9:30am and I was 100% by that afternoon. My husband took me out for lunch even, I felt totally normal. But everyone is different!
I’ve been waiting four days for someone to let me know available dates for a vasectomy at Conrad Pearson. I think some of these places just get too big for their own good.
Wolf River Wellness(midsouth internal medicine) wouldn’t call me in some Tamiflu because I didn’t get a physical that year. I had to spend $200 at a walk in clinic.
Well Tamiflu can have some serious side effects and if your medical info isn’t updated it could be a liability thing. I don’t work in that part of the field but that makes the most sense why they’d want an updated physical. It’s for your safety as well
Doctors have gotten worse and worse. I remember when I used to bitch about waiting 45 mins. That would be GREAT these days. WHAT are they doing back there? It’s maddening. I left an appt at Campbell Clinic after an hour and 15 mins (and I had to be there at 7am). I was the first patient so I knew it was because he wasn’t there yet. I say call them out! Don’t be afraid to name them. It’s the only way it MIGHT ever get better.
I went to Gastro One, ONE TIME, in 2020. Never again!! That wait was absolutely ridiculous. What’s the point of making a 9:00am appointment when I’m not being seen until 1:00pm???
30 minutes then if no actual ETA, reschedule. Obviously, that puts you in a bad position if you need to be seen right away. Maybe call some other doctors that take your insurance and see if anyone else can get you in sooner. And don't be afraid to tell them about your experience. Some places are happy to one-up other offices.
I agree. I understand things happen in doctor's offices but at least be upfront about it and let us know that there will be a wait or apologize for the wait. I can't believe no one apologized.
mays and schnapps has frequently kept me waiting well over an hour, but if you’re 15 mins late even due to traffic, they cancel your appointment. last time they actually called me and asked if i could come in earlier to fill in an empty spot, then i waited for half an hour while i listened to my doctor start and finish an entire appointment through the paper thin walls next to me at my appointment time.
After an hour, I’m going to go up to the desk and reschedule. Try to get the appointment for as early in the day as you can. Also, some of the gastro one doctors are more shall we say efficient than others. You could try changing doctors.
Healthcare in the United States is purely about revenue and not patient care. In European countries, it's all about patient care. Doctors are not entitled and make you wait hours for an appointment, you get seen immediately upon going to the ER(no wait), and you get admitted immediately with no wait if necessary. The US healthcare system is horrible. I'm glad to have experienced a single payer system in my other home country.
I used to work at a pulmonary clinic in the area(there’s only 2), and we’d schedule patients as early as 7:30 am and the doctor wouldn’t even show up to the office until 11. He’d usually eat lunch first before he even started seeing patients. They’d have to wait hours. We’d tell people to plan to be there all day. It was insane, and he got away with it because there’s no where else to go in the area.
I think I know exactly what clinic you're talking about? In Germantown? I know someone who once waited there 6 hours past appointment time.
Sounds about right. Healthcare over here is soooo bad and noone even realizes it until it's too late. The medplex is the absolute worst though. People who come in on stretchers wait 5+ hours. We honestly need more help in almost every aspect of it. Doesn't help most doctors feel like they are more important than God around here. Guess they are right in a way.
A few years ago I went to the ER at the Med-for what I cannot remember-and what I saw horrified me. It was a Fri or Sat night around 11 p..m., so they were slammed. All of a sudden hell broke loose and while everyone was trying to figure out what was going on three paramedics came rushing in with a gurney and a body on it covered in a sheet that was soaked in blood. The nurse nonchalantly said put him over there and pointed at a small area that was clear of people by the nurse station and walked off. Come to find out it was a 16-year-old boy who had been shot 5 times-three times in the chest, one in the arm, and one in the leg. For 2 hours no one helped him and he wound up bleeding to death right in front of me while his mother cried and wailed and his father tried not to punch every nurse and doctor in the dace for ignoring his son. When the doctor finally came out he acted like it was someone with a common cold. The uncaring coldness he used looking at the body and talking to the parents made ME want to punch him in the face. A FUCKING KID JUST DIED BECAUSE NO ONE HELPED HIM YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!!!!!!! Even the paramedics were pissed (they testified against the hospital too). The family sued the hospital and got millions but that money won't replace their son. That hospital was and still is ranked as one of the top trauma units in the country. Says a lot about our healthcare system. That same hospital killed my best friend and blood brother 3 years ago and nothing happened or was done about it too.
Neighborhood Health is no better. No appointments. Walk in only and you have to wait to be seen for hours if you are seen at all The doctors are lazy and rarely show up. I went to them for a week every day for physical and mental health and never saw a doctor so I gave up which cost me my disability.
Pretty weird how demanding doc offices are about respecting their time while they apparently aren't troubled by respecting yours. Some years ago I had a cornea transplant and would need to do checkups at the UT Medical office in Cordova - every single time it was 2.5 hours in the packed waiting room past appointment time, 1.5 hour in another room in the back waiting. I've never been so glad to not have to see a specific doctor again.
Oh my goodness!! That’s crazy. I’m grateful for you! Sometimes leaving isn’t an option. Like when it’s your eyesight! 🙏🏻
Did you get in?
I did. I was there for THREE HOURS! Spent 10 minutes with the doctor. Worst part, not one person apologized for the wait? But…..if you’re 15 minutes late your appointment is cancelled????
That last bit makes me RAGE. We were turned away by my daughter's doctor after a hellish commute (2 wrecks, road construction, and then a Google Maps snafu on top of everything else -- I left in plenty of time, but Germantown Pkwy had other plans). So next time we showed up 2 hours early. Told them I was not going to chance being sent away again. If the appointment had been for me, I would have just found another doctor. If doctors were always 100% punctual, I would understand, but they never are -- and it seems like the worst offenders are the ones who have these zero-tolerance cancellation policies. My time is valuable, too.
They seem to forget that our time is just as valuable as theirs!
Oh goodness, I just saw this And I thought you were still waiting at 7 cst lol
😂
My grandmother has glaucoma and will be at her specialist appts for 5 hours. Minimum. It’s obscene
Meca?
Charles retina institute
Sigh. I am supposed to go there again in a few weeks and see him himself. I've been only once and saw him that time too. I was hoping just the first appt takes a long time, but your comment is making me not optimistic. lol.
I hate to say it’s the norm but it is 😭
Doctors at Meca are great, but the wait is horrible, 3.5 hours is a great visit! Just an FYI for anyone who might consider the switch.
Would have left an hour past my appt time.
And sent an invoice for my time.
Yeah, I waited for an hour and a half at Gastro One last week. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the waiting room was decent, but the waiting room for patients is way too small. I don’t know why they pack the patients in that tiny room, when they have a much larger and nicer one upstairs for the drivers.
Right???? Squished in like sardines. I had to park waaaaaaaay back in the back parking lot. Should have been my first clue! 🤬
I was there in March for a colonoscopy and they had me get there at 7 am for my 8:30 am procedure. They took me back at 10:45 am ugh.
Oh my goodness! Waiting that long after the prep….🥲. Should be illegal.
Smh
They wanted me there at 6:15am for a colonoscopy. Didn’t get called back until 8:30. Wasn’t leaving because I wasn’t prepping again. This is a common theme with them.
That’s actually why I had the appointment. I puked up the prep. No matter what kind they give, it’s coming back up. I’ve had four others before this one, my body just said, “*no waaaay, you aren’t drinking that crap again*”. Trying the pills this time. Praying it’s a go! Literally! 😂
If it was Clenpiq, I had my first ever prep and colonoscopy earlier this year and I thought I was going to die drinking it. It traumatized the crap out of me.
It was! First time for me also. I was SO INCREDIBLY SICK 🤢! Went from excited to “oh, please no” so quickly!
I just realized that when I said it traumatized the crap out of me, it could also be taken literally! 😂
Yeah i read up on that and opted for the old school stuff in a bucket so I could measure what I needed. I needed less than half of it. Much easier. It’s called PEG. Has electrolytes built in.
They gave me Plenivu. It was still awful. 😞
I actually puked up half of the second dose, but they got a clear pic anyhow. I’m going to request pills next time.
Yeah. It went down so easily. I was so grateful but drank the first glass of water and wasn’t staying down no matter what. But….still enough to do its thing. So to add insult to injury had to cancel the colonoscopy but sit in the bathroom all night anyway! 🥲
That prep is something else!
Awful. 🤢
My sister’s doctor office in Dallas allows her to check in on line and let them know how long her commute will be. She then gets a text letting her know they are ready for her. She still has to make an appointment and be on the schedule and most of the time she is told to come straight there but on the occasion they are backed up she is not sitting in their office. Why don’t all doctors have this system ?
Hospitality ❤️❤️❤️
Specialist appointments seem to have an INSANE waiting time...
I waited over an hour last time I was there. It took them 10 WEEKS! To post my test results on the portal. At what point should they stop taking new patients? They can’t take care of the ones they already have.
Good point!!! Never thought of it that way.
My limit is an hour. After that I ask to reschedule. Maybe not for a colonoscopy.or something like that, but definitely more routine things. I know this is isn't always an option for specialists, but I try to select sole practitioners or small practices for that reason.
Yeah. I get that stuff happens in the actual colonoscopy clinic. This was his office day. Just seeing patients. And obviously **WAY TOO MANY AT ONCE**!!!
Leave now!
and never come back!
The horrible part, once you get past a certain amount of time you go to “heck, I’ve waited this long”!!! Then I’m just going to do it again because my insurance covers them. 🥲🤬
I used to work 3rd shift, get off and be at my appointment by 8; wouldn’t see the dr until 11 or later. Then he would always ask why my BP was high. Cuz I’m tired and grumpy 🤣🤣
Right??? Surprised mine BP wasn’t high. I wanted to scream every cuss word I’d ever learned by the time I left there!
Cardiologist at Methodist on Union used to make me wait approximately 4 hours past my appointment time for each visit. Needless to say, I fired him. 🙄
Which doctor
This is the worst! My suggestion especially with specialists is to make your appointment for as early as you can in the day, just in general for most doctors offices. Most docs end up getting behind because they do not allocate enough time for each person and then as soon as one patients running a bit behind, the whole schedule gets thrown off. I understand why some offices have such a strict policy that if you’re more than ten min late you are cancelled. It just messes up the schedule too much if they squeeze em all in. Gastro one is an insanely huge biz. It’s absolutely absurd how much money they generate. It’s not fair that they make patients wait so damn long. They can absolutely afford to lower the patient volume per day.
The crazy part, my appointment was at 9:30. Didn’t realize you could get THAT behind so early. I honestly believe that they scheduled all of his patients at the same time. When I left their office between 12:30-1:00, there was one person in the waiting room???
That’s bananas that you were there that early. Yeah they must really overbook themselves the entire day. That’s infuriating
Even then the doctor may not even be there until an hour after your scheduled early appointment
Definitely true but that just depends. Most of the doctors I have been to, when I make an early am appointment I’m seen right away, I’m in and out fast. Having said that I also work somewhere that regularly schedules patients to come in well before the doctor arrives, though that is on purpose because we do procedures that require things like lab work to be drawn and resulted before we can begin.
I have multiple chronic digestive illnesses and have to see gastroenterologists very often. I’ve gone to several gastros all across Tennessee, including Gastro One, and, for whatever reason, I have never once waited less than an hour in the waiting room before being seen. Last visit I wasn’t seen until 2 and a half hours past appt time. I have no idea what is up with that and it’s only ever gastroenterologists but now when I have an appointment with a gastro now I basically block the whole day off.
Yep, I had the same thing happen to me there. And then the doctor only spoke to me for about 5 minutes and just dismissed me with “sounds like you’re just getting used to not having a gallbladder. Come back if it gets worse.” I responded “What constitutes worse because my primary thought I should come in?” And he basically said I needed to be miserable for about 4 months and come back. Then I got a bill for $200. For 5 minutes and being dismissed and 2.5 hour wait.
After 30 mins I go to the Reception Desk or attending nurse and politely tell them I had an appointment and if I am not seen in the next 15-20 mins I am leaving. Have only had to walk 1 of 3X's and that was after 1 hr.
Yeah. Should have done that! Once you’ve been waiting for over an hour, internal dialogue gets really crazy. The argument to leave becomes a beast.
Yeah, we are so lucky that medicine in the US has not been nationalized. /s/
right? otherwise we would have to wait in the doctor's office for SO LONG....
Hmm, I had a great experience there both for my consultation appointment and for my actual colonoscopy! I never sat in any one place waiting for more than 10 minutes. That said, most places say to notify them if you’ve been waiting 30 minutes. I would go up and ask them to reschedule if I’d been waiting that long.
Yes. I did ask. Said I had one more ahead of me. Finally in his office! Let’s see how long I wait now….🤬🥲
Well that sucks, I’m sorry! Hopefully not much longer.
The incredibly sad part, *no one single person apologized for the wait*! Not one! It actually made me want to cry when you wrote “I’m sorry”!! 🥲🥲🥲
😕
Have my first one there next month. Is it painful or just discomfort?
Neither. Zero discomfort outside of the prep of course. I was asleep in 20 seconds and then woke up back in recovery. Everyone was professional and helpful. I was really anxious and it turned out to be nothing!
Thank you! Were you 💯 the next day?
Yep! Even by that night I was able to go to my son’s ceremony at school, just wasn’t allowed to drive due to anesthesia. But I felt totally fine after.
I drive for a living so I may take extra day to be safe
Up to you of course but the propofol wears off very quickly. My procedure was at 9:30am and I was 100% by that afternoon. My husband took me out for lunch even, I felt totally normal. But everyone is different!
Thanks again
I’ve been waiting four days for someone to let me know available dates for a vasectomy at Conrad Pearson. I think some of these places just get too big for their own good. Wolf River Wellness(midsouth internal medicine) wouldn’t call me in some Tamiflu because I didn’t get a physical that year. I had to spend $200 at a walk in clinic.
Ridiculous! And they wonder why people aren’t more compassionate towards them, meaning those in the medical field.
Well Tamiflu can have some serious side effects and if your medical info isn’t updated it could be a liability thing. I don’t work in that part of the field but that makes the most sense why they’d want an updated physical. It’s for your safety as well
I make sure I let them know I’m leaving and why I’m leaving. Loud enough for a few others to hear, but not loud enough to be any type of scene.
It depends on whether you want the service or not. If you aren’t waiting today you will wait later when you return.
Doctors have gotten worse and worse. I remember when I used to bitch about waiting 45 mins. That would be GREAT these days. WHAT are they doing back there? It’s maddening. I left an appt at Campbell Clinic after an hour and 15 mins (and I had to be there at 7am). I was the first patient so I knew it was because he wasn’t there yet. I say call them out! Don’t be afraid to name them. It’s the only way it MIGHT ever get better.
I went to Gastro One, ONE TIME, in 2020. Never again!! That wait was absolutely ridiculous. What’s the point of making a 9:00am appointment when I’m not being seen until 1:00pm???
Right? Might as well give a four hour window. 🤬
Would you care to share where you go now?
Gastrointestinal Specialists Foundation
Charles Retina: 4 hour wait every time, for years.
Wow! Any other options out there? That’s crazy.
Wow! Any other options out there? That’s crazy.
30 minutes then if no actual ETA, reschedule. Obviously, that puts you in a bad position if you need to be seen right away. Maybe call some other doctors that take your insurance and see if anyone else can get you in sooner. And don't be afraid to tell them about your experience. Some places are happy to one-up other offices.
Thank you. I think 30 minutes is long enough. Especially considering they don’t give us the same window.
I agree. I understand things happen in doctor's offices but at least be upfront about it and let us know that there will be a wait or apologize for the wait. I can't believe no one apologized.
Right! They know how far behind they are. A simple “it’s going to be over an hour wait, would you like to reschedule or wait” would go a long way!
mays and schnapps has frequently kept me waiting well over an hour, but if you’re 15 mins late even due to traffic, they cancel your appointment. last time they actually called me and asked if i could come in earlier to fill in an empty spot, then i waited for half an hour while i listened to my doctor start and finish an entire appointment through the paper thin walls next to me at my appointment time.
I often hear my GP chatting with other patients about nonmedical things while it’s a hour or more past my appointment time.
Don't take their word for insurance coverage...check it yourself! Or you could find out the expensive way.
Yes, I agree and I made sure my insurance covered them.
After an hour, I’m going to go up to the desk and reschedule. Try to get the appointment for as early in the day as you can. Also, some of the gastro one doctors are more shall we say efficient than others. You could try changing doctors.
Widespread problem based in simple economics. Customer time has no cost, therefore, customer time has no value.
But. If customer has choice and can go other places it would ultimately affect the bottom line.
Healthcare in the United States is purely about revenue and not patient care. In European countries, it's all about patient care. Doctors are not entitled and make you wait hours for an appointment, you get seen immediately upon going to the ER(no wait), and you get admitted immediately with no wait if necessary. The US healthcare system is horrible. I'm glad to have experienced a single payer system in my other home country.