When a patient arrives late for a visit, we will do everything in our power to see that patient without significantly inconveniencing other patients. If a patient is more then 10 minutes late, we will determine how accommodating that patient will affect other patients. We will also take into account the type of appointment. Sick patients will always take priority over routine check-ups.

Hyde Park Pediatrics truly values the goodwill of all our families; we appreciate the busy pace of your lives and respect the fact that your time is precious. With your cooperation, we know that we can improve our ability to make your visits with us more efficient, enjoyable, and stress-free.

When a patient arrives late and there are no other patients scheduled or ready to be seen, we will see the late patient when he or she arrives. However, if a patient arrives late and other patients are waiting, we may ask the late family to move to an unscheduled slot later in the day or to see another provider who is available. On very busy days, we may have to ask a late family to reschedule their appointment to another day. This is a last resort.

All of us at Hyde Park Pediatrics wish that every patient could be seen promptly at his or her scheduled appointment time. We dislike keeping our families waiting, just as we dislike being kept waiting ourselves. We believe that everyone's time is valuable, and we are constantly revising our schedule to improve patient flow and to be as accommodating as possible to all.

So why is it that we sometimes don’t run on time?

1. It is our policy to accommodate, on a same-day basis, all patients who require a sick visit. We never know exactly how many patients are going to need to be seen on any given day. On one day, 20 patients may call for a same-day visit; on another, it might be 120. We have created a dynamic schedule that allows for most variations. However, when there are more than expected ill children on a given day, it becomes increasingly challenging to keep all of the clinicians' schedules running punctually.
2. Office emergencies also affect schedules. A child who is significantly ill can require a much longer visit than other ill children and may absorb more office resources, such as nurses, medical assistants, and front-desk staff. This almost always causes a provider to run behind.
3. Another factor that can interfere with our ability to remain on time is patients who arrive late for scheduled appointments. For example, if our first patient of the day arrives 15 minutes late, it is nearly impossible to get back on schedule for the remainder of the clinical session. We certainly cannot make up that time by short-changing subsequent patients.

How can you help?

1. You can help us greatly improve our ability to see your children on time by arriving on time yourself for a scheduled visit.
2. Please call us if you think that you will arrive more than 10 minutes late. If possible, we will try to adjust our schedule. However, it is possible that we will ask you to reschedule your visit to another day.
3. We would also appreciate a call ahead of time if you hope to have an additional child seen for a visit. Your call will help us to adjust for the “squeeze-in” appropriately.