What to Expect During Your Visit
Author: Dr. Vrolijk | Updated: August 23, 2025 | Disclaimer | Review Process | References
Nervous about your appointment? This page helps you know what to expect from check in to when you leave. Get tips for every step of the process.
On This Page:
What Usually Happens
This covers what to expect during a regular visit with your healthcare provider or a specialist. This doesn’t include visits for tests (like an MRI) or a procedure. Those follow a different process.
What to Expect When You Arrive
- Check in at the front desk or using your hospital app
- Wait for a room. This can take a while. You may get forms to fill out. It’s okay if you can’t answer everything
- Your name will be called by a nurse or medical assistant
- Vital signs check – they’ll measure your weight, temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate
- Wait in exam room for your healthcare provider. This can take a while too.
✷ If You Need to Use the Bathroom – You can step out to use the bathroom. If you can’t find it, you can ask someone. Look at which exam room you’re in. There should be a number by the door.
Talking with Your Provider
- Share your concerns and questions. Your healthcare provider will also ask about how you’ve been feeling. This is the perfect time to share anything you wrote down before the visit (Read our tips on How to Prepare for Your Doctor’s Visit)
- Discuss follow-up questions that help the provider understand what’s happening. Some might seem personal. It’s okay to tell them if you feel uncomfortable. You can ask how the information helps them care for you.
✷ Record It for Later – Ask your provider to write down information like answers to your questions or what results mean. You can also ask to audio record your appointment. This way you can remember everything that’s said. Make sure to explain that’s why you want to record the appointment.
What Else Might Happen
- Depending on your concerns and health conditions, your provider might:
- Examine parts of your body (you can ask what they’re doing and why)
- Order tests for later like blood work
- Review previous test results with you
- Discuss medication changes
Before You Leave
- Get more information from your healthcare provider about
- What they think is happening
- Tests to learn more
- Treatment options
- Ask about next steps for unaddressed questions or concerns. This may be another appointment, seeing a specialist, or other options.
- Schedule follow-up (if needed) with front desk staff. They are the same people you check in with. Or they sit near them.
How Long Your Visit Might Be
Time with Your Doctor
- Most visits: 7-18 minutes of actual face-to-face time with your provider
- Specialist appointments: Usually longer – can be up to 20-30 minutes
- New patient visits: Generally get more time than follow-ups
- Huge variation depending on your healthcare system and how busy the office is
Total Visit Time
- Your whole visit (check-in to leaving) will usually be much longer than face-to-face time
- Depends on the location. You can call to get an estimate
Some Reasons You Might Feel Rushed
Doctors are often pressured to see patients quickly. There are many reasons for this. A couple recent changes include:
- The government paying less money – In 2025, Medicare cut how much it pays doctors. This puts pressure on medical practices to see more patients to make up for the lost money.
- Investment companies buying medical practices – Private equity firms have been buying medical practices. When this happens, studies show they increase the number of patients doctors have to see. One study found practices saw almost 26% more patients after private equity took over. That means a doctor might go from seeing 20 patients in a day to 25 or 26.
Quick Answers
Each lab sets their own normal values for most tests. This is because different labs use different equipment and materials. It’s like 10 people measuring the same thing with different rulers. They’ll get slightly different results.
Most labs base their “normal” range on 120 people or more. That’s not a huge number, which is part of why results can vary.
Some healthy people just have lab values that are outside the normal range. And sometimes people are healthier with certain “abnormal” results compared to someone who might have normal results.
Labs are right most of the time. This means if you get 20 different tests, about 1 might look “abnormal” even if you’re healthy. We call that normal lab variation.
This is why you might have an “abnormal” result that your doctor isn’t worried about. Normal for you might not be “normal” at that lab. Or you might need to repeat the test to figure out the right value. This is why taking medicine or supplements to fix a lab test can be unhelpful and even harmful.
Your doctor can help you figure out what an abnormal value means for you. They’ll interpret it based on your other lab results, how you feel, and your health history.
Yes, write down all your symptoms and give the list to your doctor. Make it easy for them to read so they can figure out if some symptoms are connected.
Your doctor can help you understand which symptoms to discuss first – some might be more serious or urgent. Don’t worry about giving them “too much” information. They can tell you if some symptoms should be discussed at another visit.
Your doctor might seem rushed, but it doesn’t mean they don’t want to help you. It’s still okay to speak up. You can say something like, “I’m feeling rushed. Can we slow down a bit?”
The doctor might not realize how their pace is affecting the appointment. If you still can’t get what you need, you might need a provider with a different communication style. Ask the nurse or medical assistant if there’s another doctor in the practice who might be a better fit.
What to Read Next
Resources We Used
Doles N, Mon MY, Shaikh A, et al. Interpretating Normal Values and Reference Ranges for Laboratory Tests. J Am Board Fam Med. 2025;38(1):174-179. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2024.240224R1
Hoffer EP. Private Equity and Medicine: A Marriage Made in Hell. The American Journal of Medicine. 2024;137(1):5-7. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2023.09.008
Kantner AC. Understanding and Improving Your Work RVUs. fpm. 2023;30(2):4-8.
León-García M, Wieringa TH, Suárez NRE, et al. Does the duration of ambulatory consultations affect the quality of healthcare? A systematic review. BMJ Open Qual. 2023;12(4). doi:10.1136/bmjoq-2023-002311
Matthews S, Roxas R. Private equity and its effect on patients: a window into the future. Int J Health Econ Manag. 2023;23(4):673-684. doi:10.1007/s10754-022-09331-y
Medicare physician payment schedule. American Medical Association. March 4, 2025. Accessed July 26, 2025. https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/medicare-medicaid/medicare-physician-payment-schedule
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