What Works in the Waiting Room?

Average waiting time in US primary care offices is 16 mins, 28 secs, according to a recent survey. The same survey found that 97% of patients are frustrated by long wait times and about 20% said they would be willing to pay extra for "faster service.” About 40% said they would be willing to see another physician if the wait would be shorter.

How patient friendly is your waiting room? Do you beat, meet,or exceed the average wait time? What do you offer for entertainment? Do you apologize for being behind schedule when you enter the exam room?

Would you take a few minutes to answer these and just a few other questions in our survey? You can access it by CLICKING HERE. You will also have space to tell us how you manage your patients’ waiting room experience. We hope you’ll share what works for you – we will collect all the ideas and share them in a future article.

Thank you!