I had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon. I thought to go armed with a book in English to avoid having to leaf through the pile of French magazines in the waiting room. But I didn’t think to go with a French-culture-translator.
I got there just at 3, the time of the appointment. A tad later than I’d hoped, but it is France where being late is simply common courtesy. When you go to a doctor’s office, you buzz at the door (there’s a doorbell by a sign that says ring and go in). Then you just see yourself to the waiting room and the aforementioned pile of magazines. If you’re wondering where the receptionist is… well, there isn’t one. There’s also no nurse. There’s just however many doctors are in the practice (often only one) and the magazines.
Normally, I don’t mind the lack of staff. But today as I sat waiting and waiting and waiting, I wasn’t sure what to do. I wasn’t sure that the doctor realized I was there. I’d arrived at the same time as another woman; she’d rung the bell then opened the door for both of us. So as far as I knew, the doctors thought only one person had come in. And her doctor quickly came to get her. She hadn’t even had a chance to look at the reading options available! That left me alone in the waiting room. I read a couple chapters of my book. No one came to check on me. I could hear all sorts of banging around in the closet next door. Still, not a peep out of my doctor. At about 20 past 3, I started to wonder what I should do. How can I make sure the doctor knows I’m here? There’s no receptionist to check-in with. No nurse to interrupt. I tried setting my book bag down hard enough to make noise. My paperback didn’t create much of a thud. I contemplated knocking the pile of magazines off the coffee table, but I didn’t really want to have to pick them all up. I finally decided I’d just go to the bathroom and hope that the doctor would wonder who was flushing the toilet. She didn’t pound on the door to ask who was in there, but she did fetch me from the waiting room just a few minutes later.
It was one of the strangest doctor appointments I’ve ever had. The exam consisted of her asking me how things are going, reading my mammogram results, holding the slides up to the sliding glass door to see them, then taking my blood pressure. Uh… ok.
I realized on the way home that I’d completely forgotten to pay for the visit. Maybe I’ll just wait till she makes some noise about it.
Are you sure they charge? After all, they retrieve lost items from the sewer system and don’t charge people; surely health checkups must be more worthy than soggy matchbook covers retrieved for free (for unwary readers, the reference is to the Paris Sewer System tour, touting how they help people fetch all sorts of lost items from the sewer system. Good grief!)
Yes, you pay at the doctor’s office.. if you aren’t part of the French healthcare system. Then it is free. But you do have to show your Carte Vitale. Doctors and pharmacists are always amazed that we so nonchalantly say we don’t have the card and that we know that means we have to pay “full price”… then fork over the 10 Euros for three prescriptions or 66 Euros for a mammogram.