The time it takes to schedule a new patient physician appointment in 15 major metropolitan areas has increased by 30 percent since 2014, according to a new survey conducted by Merritt Hawkins, a national physician search firm and a company of AMN Healthcare.
The 2017 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times and Medicare and Medicaid Acceptance Rates indicates that it now takes an average of 24 days to schedule a new patient physician appointment in 15 of the largest cities in the U.S., up from 18.5 days in 2014, 20.5 days in 2009 and 21 days in 2004, previous years the survey was conducted.
“Physician appointment wait times are the longest they have been since we began conducting the survey,” said Mark Smith, president of Merritt Hawkins. “Growing physician appointment wait times are significant indicator that the nation is experiencing a shortage of physicians.”
