Photo:Bert Hardy/Hulton Archive-Getty Images
By Dina Fine Maron
As if being subject to five minutes of hold Muzak wasn't bad enough, Americans looking to find a new doctor are likely hear something even more painful when the receptionist finally picks up the phone: "The doctor can see you…in December."
It’s not just bad luck or bad timing that can make it take weeks—and sometimes months—for new patients to land an appointment with a nearby doctor. Merritt Hawkins & Associates, a physician recruitment firm, conducted a nationwide study of medical wait times, and found that when it comes to medical specialist, there’s no such thing as same-day service. From September 2008 through March 2009, the company made over 1,000 phone calls across five medical specialties—family practice, cardiology, dermatology, obstetrics/gynecology, and orthopedic surgery—in 15 major metro cities. In each call they politely asked when the next available appointment might be for a new patient looking for a standard check-up or another type of non-emergency care. The results?
Worst Wait Time
On average, you'll wait the longest for care if you're living in Boston. Beantown residents had to wait, on average, 70 days to see an OB/GYN and 63 days to see a family physician.
Shortest Wait Time
To see a family doc, Miami is the place to be. You'll see a physician in about a week, on average—no time at all, especially compared to the 59 days you'd have to wait in Los Angeles and the 63 in Boston's.
Heart Doc Wait Times
Those with bum tickers are better off in Atlanta or Detroit—the average wait times to see a cardiologist in those cities were five days and seven and a half days, respectively. In Minneapolis the wait was an average of 47 days. Maybe that's why the Mayo Clinic is close by?
OB/GYN Wait Times
On the other…hand, Minneapolis ranks number one for OB/GYN care waits. On average, you can count on getting an appointment in less than a week--5 days, to be exact. The longest wait of the 15 surveyed Minneapolis offices was only two weeks.
Dermo Wait Times
If you have a suspicious-looking mole you want checked out, chances are you'll be able to see a doctor before it grows a second head. The average wait time is about two weeks if you live in Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, or Washington, D.C. Dermatologists in San Diego, which had the best waiting time, were even faster: 10 days on average.
The Good (sort of ) News
Compared to their last survey in 2004, overall wait times decreased across the country. That may have more to do with the crumbling economy than improvements in our healthcare infrastructure. "It has been widely reported that the economic downturn has suppressed physician visits and reduced hospital admissions," write the researchers from Merritt Hawkins. Still, the survey results aren't the final word—wait times can vary season to season and there may always be cancellations.
If you're desperate to see a doc, don't despair. There are a few ways to jump the line. First, don't take "three Tuesdays from now" for an answer. If the wait time is longer than you're comfortable with, speak up. If they still won't budge, ask the scheduler for a referral to another practice. "That may also motivate them to try to work something out," says Mark Smith, president of Merritt Hawkins and Associates.
Still doctorless? Consider staying that way—at least for now. Smith suggests seeking out practices that have nurse practitioners or physician assistants as part of the medical care team. These health care workers are just as able of providing the basic preliminary exams as doctors in most situations, and are in less demand. If there's a doctor you're dying to see, ask if you can make an initial consult with someone else on her staff. "This would get you in and get your records transferred," Smith says. "Most practices only take on so many new patients each month, just because of the time it takes to do that first work-up," he says. Once you're in the door as a previous patient, it will be easier to see the doctor next time around.
Download the complete survey results—including wait times for the 15 included cities—here.
