In 1997 Americans made about 787.4 million visits to physicians' offices. More than one-fourth of all visits were to doctors in general and family practice. Reducing Waiting Time in the Doctor's Office During an average doctor visit, researchers have found more than half of all patients spend at least 20 minutes in the waiting room and another 10 minutes or more in the exam room before ever seeing the physician. Busy patients often find the long waits aggravating and unacceptable.
Doctors say many things can influence office waiting time.
Sometimes patients are late for appointments. When one physician in a practice is sick or called away for an emergency, the remaining doctors need to pick up the workload, adding extra time to everyone's schedule. It's sometimes hard to judge how much time a doctor will need with each patient. Some patients can be seen in just a few minutes. Others have complicated medical concerns that need to be addressed.