Consider the following scenario: A mother arrives in the office around 11:00 a.m., demanding an appointment immediately for her child, who is quiet but alert. The child has been seen before. The mother states that the child has a temperature but denies nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or other signs or symptoms. The office has been busy all day, with several interruptions calling the doctor away. The provider will be seeing patients in the afternoon, and there are a couple of same-day appointments available on your schedule. You offer her an appointment for later that day, but she insists that it must be now.
