Becker's Healthcare July 23, 2024
The average wait time for the third next available appointment across 11 medical specialties in 23 U.S. metro areas is 38 days, starkly contrasting with the traditional 14-day benchmark.
The finding comes from ECG Management Consultants, which investigated patient wait times due to their difficulty in measurement and tracking. While many people have anecdotal evidence that accessing medical care is becoming increasingly slow and time-consuming, the report, “The Waiting Game: New-Patient Appointment Access for US Physicians,” provides concrete data and reveals sobering average wait times across the nation.
The metrics are not intended as new benchmarks but rather provide a realistic snapshot of what patients experience when seeking medical appointments. Of the 253 metropolitan market and specialty combinations included in...
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