How Long Should You Wait For Your Doctor?

to see a doctor and half a million suffer a delay of three or four weeks.

An acceptable amount of time to wait will vary by doctor and the type of practice she runs. In general, the more specialized the doctor, the more patient you may need to be. The fewer doctors in any given specialty who practice in your geographical area, the more time you’ll have to wait, too.

The fallout from longer wait times is also varied. The experts said people who have to wait several weeks to see a doctor might just skip routine or preventative medicine appointments. That can lead to consequences down the road. People can develop more serious ailments from ignoring symptoms or postponing healthcare.

-Also, it depends on how hard it is to get an appt with the DR. For a new patient consult, some DRs book out 6 months in advance, so when my appt comes up after waiting those 6 months, I will wait as long as I need to, to be seen. Otherwise it could be another 6 months for an appt.

Tell them that the wait time either in the waiting room or once in the patient room is too long. Give commentary where it’s available. Don’t curse, or YELL ABOUT IT!!!! But make your point. Those surveys and comments are read, the scores are calculated, and they are meaningful in many ways.

How long does it take for a doctor to see you?

If you have been a patient for many years, and the doctor usually sees you within a few minutes, but one day that stretches to a half-hour, then you know it’s unusual. Try to be patient.

To reduce your waiting time, use these tips when making an appointment: Try to get the earliest appointment in the morning or the first appointment after lunch. During each of those times, you’ll avoid a backed-up group of patients and you have a better chance of spending less time in the waiting room. …

If you have a 10 a.m. meeting, you may not want to schedule an appointment beforehand. Take a good book, your knitting, and entertaining phone apps (plus earbuds) to pass the time. Expect the appointment in total, wait time included, to last far longer than you think it will.

Don’t create more stress for yourself by scheduling something else right on the heels of your appointment.

An obstetrician may be delivering a baby. There may even be emergencies. Understanding that it’s the volume of patients and procedures, not the time spent per patient, that comprises a doctors’ income, it’s easier to understand why they get so far behind, and why we are kept waiting.

If the doctor sees children as patients, then try not to book your appointment on a school holiday.

If the wait time you’ve experienced or you anticipate is unacceptable, then find a doctor that doesn’t make patients wait so long. This is possible for a primary care doctor or a specialist you see on a regular basis for a long-term or chronic condition. It may not be possible for a sub-specialist or a doctor who is in great demand.

How long can you wait to see a doctor?

As long as you can wait three weeks or even a little longer. A new survey concluded that the wait time to get into see a physician has been slowly ticking upward the past decade, reaching an all-time high of 24 days this year. Experts interviewed by Healthline said there are a number of reasons for the increase.

The experts said people who have to wait several weeks to see a doctor might just skip routine or preventative medicine appointments. That can lead to consequences down the road.

Why wait times are increasing. One of the main reasons for the increase in wait times is the simple law of supply and demand. Kurt Mosley, vice president of strategic alliances for Merritt Hawkins, said the current and pending shortage of doctors is a prime cause of the increase.