Richard this is a thread that is good for viewing both sides and I am enjoying it a lot.

I work for an ophthalmologist and of course my problems are in dealing with patients who do not know their insurance requirements. We make phone calls ahead of time telling them to make sure the referral has been called in to the primary doc and then, prior to their visit, go online to try to retrieve the referral. This all takes considerable time. When they arrive and get angry that they won't be seen because there is no referral in the system it is enough to make you want to pull out your hair.

We also have patients who call to make an appointment and then want a card sent out a few days in advance to remind them of their appointment. I tell them that we don't mail reminder cards but try to make a reminder call the day before but, depending on how that day is going, it might not be possible. We encourage them to keep track of their appointments themselves. I have even had patients ask me how to do this. Ummmm, buy a calendar.