What if my doctor is late?

What should I do if my doctor is late?

If your doctor is late for a telehealth appointment, stay in the virtual waiting room or keep your phone nearby — they will connect as soon as they are available. Clinicians sometimes run late because an earlier consultation has taken longer than expected. If more than 30 minutes have passed without contact, reach out to the Abby Health support team via live chat.

Why might a clinician be running late?

Telehealth consultations, like all clinical appointments, occasionally run over time. A patient before you may have raised a complex issue that required extra care. This is part of what it means to take every consultation seriously.

Abby Health clinicians are encouraged to give each patient the time their concern warrants. This means occasional delays are normal, and your appointment will not be skipped — it will simply start a little later than scheduled.

Where should I wait for my appointment?

For video consultations: remain on the waiting room screen in the Abby Health app. Your clinician will join as soon as they are free. Do not close the app or leave the waiting room — if you do, your clinician may not be able to reach you directly and the appointment could be missed.

For phone consultations: keep your phone close and on audible volume. Your clinician will call you from 0483 957 072. Make sure Do Not Disturb mode is off and that you have mobile reception.

If you left the app or missed the call and are not sure what happened, see what to do if you have a problem during your appointment.

How long should I wait before contacting support?

A reasonable wait time is up to 30 minutes past your scheduled start time. After that, it is appropriate to contact the Abby Health support team via live chat in the app. Our support team can check on the status of your appointment and let you know when to expect your clinician, or help you reschedule if needed.

You can reach support through the app at any time. See how to contact the Abby support team for all contact options.

Will I lose my appointment if I step away briefly?

For video consultations, your clinician can see whether you are in the waiting room. If you step away briefly and return within a reasonable time, the appointment can still proceed. However, if the waiting room shows you as absent when your clinician attempts to connect, the appointment may be recorded differently. Try to stay available from your scheduled time until the consultation begins.

If you genuinely cannot wait and need to reschedule, it is better to cancel through the app rather than simply not attending — see rescheduling or cancelling an appointment.

What if my clinician never joined?

In rare cases — usually due to an unexpected emergency or technical fault — a clinician may not be able to attend the appointment. If this happens, you will be notified as soon as possible, and your appointment will not be counted as a no-show. You will be offered the opportunity to rebook at no penalty. Contact the support team if you have not received any communication after 30 minutes. Details are in the how to contact the Abby support team article.

Does being kept waiting affect my care?

A short delay does not reduce the quality of your consultation. Your clinician will still have access to your full history through Abby AI, our medical decision-support tool, and will give your concern the time it needs when the call connects. If anything, staying online during a brief delay means you are seen by someone who has just completed a thorough consultation with another patient. The RACGP describes giving each patient the time their concern requires as a hallmark of quality general practice.

Abby Health maintains a Trustpilot rating of 4.8 and a Google rating of 4.8, reflecting the consistent experience our patients receive (Abby Health internal data, Q1 2026).

If your symptoms become severe or worsening while you wait, do not stay on the line — call 000 or go to the nearest emergency department. For non-urgent advice during a wait, Healthdirect runs a 24-hour nurse helpline.

How Abby can help

Abby Health is an online-first clinic operating 7 days a week with more than 300 clinicians across the network. Delays are uncommon, and when they do occur, our support team is available to help you through it. Abby appointments are bulk billed for eligible patients with a valid Medicare card. Book or manage your appointments at abbyhealth.app.