I contend that in some instances, technology can be counter- productive. I read an article in the Chicago Tribune today about a virtual waiting room called medtimewait.com. A local dentist was featured who wanted to be the first dentist in the world to employ this new system.
It is an internet service that is designed to inform patients as to the timeliness of their scheduled medical office appointment, sort of like the flight information messages you can get from your air carrier. As long as two hours out from your appointment, you can be informed of the approximate delay in the day’s appointments either by an email or by logging into the medtimewait.com web site. It seems like a clever concept till you think about it for a few minutes.
In my experience, medical practices always run late. I hardly need to log on to a separate web program to garner that information. A call to the office might indicate how far behind they are and allow you to beg permission to queue you up in absentia. In any event, bring a good book.
