5 helpful reasons to be a patient with patience

“Kindness and consideration of somebody besides yourself – I think that keeps you feeling young, I really do.”

Betty White

We’ve all seen it — longer lines and less registers open at the grocery store, the servers at your favorite restaurant trying to keep up, even a quick stop for coffee can turn into a frustrating delay these days.

Doctors’ offices and pharmacies are struggling, too.

While it’s easy to get impatient when things take longer than we’re used to, a kinder approach is to consider all the challenges that the pandemic has forced on the hard-working health care professionals who serve us. By being a patient with patience, you’re not just showing kindness to others — you’re actually helping to keep our community healthier and happier!

As you schedule and attend your doctor visits, try to keep the following five ideas in mind.

1. Finding time to fit a doctor visit into our busy schedules can be difficult. But imagine how hard it is to schedule hundreds of appointments week in and week out. When we show patience and understanding of what office staff are doing to meet everyone’s needs, they’ll feel less stressed and more appreciated, and can better prioritize appointments to keep all patients as healthy as can be.
2. When you call for that appointment, you may find yourself on “hold” longer than expected. There are many reasons why this could happen, from staffing shortages to new staff needing training. Again, when we stop to think about these challenges, we’re less likely to take out our frustration on already over-burdened health care workers.
3. When you go to your appointment, please arrive early and come prepared with all of the info your doctor needs to help you — like a list of your medications, and all the questions you want to ask.
4. Remember that many doctor offices are seeing increased demands for COVID-19 testing of school age children to get them back to the classroom after exposure or quarantine. In the face of these challenges, your patience and understanding are helping our area schools and students.
5. Don’t be afraid to let someone know they’ve done a great job! It’s no secret that health care workers are leaving the profession in record numbers due to the stresses of the pandemic. Your kindness, a compliment, or a simple “thank you” could be just the encouragement our health care heroes need.   

Being a patient with patience is doing your part to support the nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals in our community. But it doesn’t mean you won’t get the care you need quickly. Providers in the CDPHP network are required to maintain standards for access to care, based on the urgency of your medical issue — read more about getting the care you need quickly and in the most appropriate setting. We also offer our members telehealth alternatives that may speed up the time it takes to get an appointment.