Dive Brief:
- Supporters of the current American healthcare system have suggested that it compares favorably to other countries, as systems in other nations can feature long wait times for elective procedures. But research suggests that long waits for doctors' appointments are becoming the norm in the U.S.
- The extended wait times, which are especially marked for specialists, include both patients with private insurance as well as Medicaid and Medicare patients.
- A recent study by the Commonwealth Fund found that 26% of 2,002 American adults surveyed said they waited six days or more for primary care appointments, better only than Canada and Norway among 10 countries surveyed. Another study, by Merritt Hawkins, found that patients waited an average of 29 days nationally to see a dermatologist for a skin exam, 66 days to have a physical in Boston and 32 days for a heart evaluation by a cardiologist in Washington.
Dive Insight:
Not only are Americans experiencing longer waits for service than they might have expected, but the waits are even longer for less-lucrative services. For example, if patients need a knee replacement or an MRI, they can typically get on a doctor's schedule within days. But patients with sicknesses that don't offer a big payoff, such as asthmatics whose breathing is worsening or elderly patients with chest pain, may wait a week or even several weeks to be seen. What's more, as patients obtain insurance under the ACA, waits may grow longer. Experts note that the U.S. could lower wait times by giving nurses and physician assistants more leeway to open their own practices and do simple diagnoses and procedures, but doctors have historically resisted such initiatives. This appears to be a crisis in the making.