I have a 7 month wait.
Google has made general practitioners pretty much obsolete for me. In fact, it’s proven, so far, to be MORE reliable.
Heard this story when I worked in Manitoba. Fortunately Rochester Minnesota wasn’t far and people would mortgage their home to be seen there at the Mayo clinic.
Tell them you are paying cash and no insurance and they will see you today..................
This time of year, folks who have maxed out their deductibles or have money left in their FSA get appointments. It may not be related to Obamacare, but the organization of employer provided insurance.
It use to be the reason you had a family doctor was so you would essentially have a medical professional "on retainer" that could see you at any time. Now they are little more than office workers you are required to see to check a box on an insurance form.
when the government runs things, this is what happens to us.
I just checked with my doc’s schedule before posting this note.....
my private doc is taking the weekend off but can see me anytime on Tuesday as I wish, or will consult with me on the phone today if i want. Or, I may consult with an RN advice nurse. Or, I may see his backup MD’s anytime any day i wish at the clinic either by appointment or drop-in, or other MD’s at the emergency room if the clinic is closed for the night (the backup service at emergency is of course, open 24/7/365). It has always been this way with my doc.
No problem seeing either my doc or other docs (who have always dealt with my problems competently, too).
Solution: let Zero=Care self-destruct .. or better yet, put it out of its misery....and let people get real medical care (in the regular private marketplace without involving government bureaucrappy with its extended delays and other sanfus)
You only want a checkup. Why should you jump ahead of everyone who needs immediate care?
It might be that you are just late to the party, due to scads of people getting in their free routine exams before the end of the year and end of the current health insurance cycle. That, and maybe a bunch of the doctors are going on cruises over the holidays.
Not surprising for new patients. I need to schedule routine physicals a few months out, too, and I have great insurance through my company and have been seeing my doctor for years.
Are you on Obamacare? If not, then why would you think it was Obamacare related?
There was similar vanity a few weeks ago. Someone offered up the suggestion that it is hard to get in this time of year because people have to spend down the use it or lose it tax free spending accounts offered by their employers.
Doc in a box. They will see you that day. But it took my regular doc to order the x-ray that officially figured out what was wrong.
A routine check up appointment often requires a wait these days——and why does that even matter?
The important thing is the ability to see a doctor quickly if you are having a problem.
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You got Railroaded....
Urgent care centers have made the family doctor pretty much an after thought for anything beyond a routine checkup or shots around here - walk in the front door, sign up, get seen within an hour or so, sometimes sooner - have x-rays and basic lab services on-site - UTI’s, flu, bad headaches, just about anything that you can call urgent gets you seen - best thing to happen to medicine since penicillin.....