The Negative Impacts of Waiting
Figure 3. Patient Wait Times. From “How to Treat Patient Wait-Time Woes” by McCormack, M, 2013, (https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/how-to-treat-patient-wait-time-woes/)
The frustration of waiting at GP clinics is well documented, and largely expected as a normal part of going to an appointment. McCormack (2013) finds in her article “How To Treat Patient Wait-Time Woes” that 97% of patients surveyed feel frustrated by waits, even though 45% of their waits
were for less the 15 minutes. This tells us that patients become frustrated by waits of any length, even in a space where wait times are usually expected. Lessening the wait time will not necessarily reduce frustration, so it is therefore important to look at that waiting experience itself.
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