Posted on 12/05/2025 7:14:00 PM PST by SeekAndFind
It starts with a call. A sore knee, a lingering cough, a changing mole - nothing urgent - but not quite ignorable. The receptionist is polite, but the first available appointment is three weeks away.
For millions of Americans, health care begins with a wait. For many, walk-in clinics have replaced family medicine.
“People have started to accept that,” Dr. Dorothy Serna, a primary care physician who left traditional practice for a concierge model, told The Epoch Times. “They think, ‘I can’t get my doctor, so I won’t even try. I’ll just go to urgent care. I’ll wait. I’ll Google it.’”
Such scenarios have become the norm rather than the exception. What was once a simple task—seeing your doctor when you need care—has evolved into a complex navigation challenge that requires strategy, persistence, and insider knowledge to overcome.
More than 100 million people lack a regular primary care provider, a figure that continues to climb each year. New patients wait an average of 23.5 days to see a primary care doctor, often longer in cities. Even existing patients face significant waits, although generally shorter than those of new patients.
The problem continues to grow. A 2025 survey by AMN Healthcare found the average wait for a physician appointment in major metro areas has stretched to 31 days—up 19 percent since 2022 and nearly 50 percent since 2004. In Boston, patients wait more than two months, the longest wait time in the nation.
Across all six specialties, average wait times range widely, from weeks in some cities to just days in others. The Epoch Times
If this is the situation in cities with the most doctors, rural patients can expect even worse outcomes. Only 9 percent of U.S. physicians practice in those communities, leaving patients to travel farther, wait longer, and often go without care altogether.
The problem is reshaping how Americans access health care. Primary care, traditionally the system’s front door, has become its biggest bottleneck. Routine problems escalate into emergencies, and preventive care gets delayed.
The shortage is structural. Nearly half of primary care doctors are older than 55, and few younger physicians are choosing the field. Only 15 percent remain in primary care five years after completing their training. The United States has 67 primary care doctors per 100,000 people—about half the rate of Canada. While many other wealthy nations devote 7 percent to 14 percent of their health budgets to primary care, the United States spends less than 5 percent.
Preventive medicine is collapsing into fragmented, reactive care, and patients are left waiting while disease advances.
Seeing a specialist presents its own set of challenges. Even after securing a coveted primary care appointment and obtaining a referral, patients face another round of lengthy delays.
Specialist wait times vary dramatically by field and location. New patients wait about two weeks for orthopedic surgery, a month for cardiology and dermatology, and six weeks for obstetrics and gynecology—and often longer in big cities.
The referral process itself creates additional friction. Insurance authorizations can add weeks to the timeline. Paperwork gets lost between offices. Some specialists require specific diagnostic tests before scheduling, adding another layer of delay.
Online patient forums overflow with stories of months-long waits for neurology consultations and gastroenterology appointments that stretch nearly a year.
Among the six specialties surveyed, some patients face extreme delays. The Epoch Times
Whether it’s finding a new doctor, landing a specialist appointment, or just breaking through your provider’s backlog, the challenge is access. Some patients manage access by knowing how the system works. The following tactics won’t fix the shortage, but they can shift the odds in our favor.
Start With People
The fastest way to find a doctor isn’t online—it’s through people. A 2022 study in Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation found that most patients turn to family, friends, or trusted professionals.
Try these approaches:
Go Digital
Hospital and insurer websites often have hidden scheduling tools—but you have to know where to look.
Expand Your Definition of ‘Doctor’
When appointment backlogs stretch for weeks, the key may be to expand what “care” looks like.
Be Flexible About How–and Where–You’re Seen
When options are limited, flexibility can make the difference between waiting weeks and getting care today.
Once you’ve identified the provider or practice that fits your needs, the next challenge is securing an appointment. That’s where persistence, flexibility, and a few behind-the-scenes strategies can make all the difference.
Ask whether your doctor’s office can do the same by contacting the specialist or testing center on your behalf. If that doesn’t work, an outside advocate may help. A 2024 review found that patients with advocates began treatment sooner in 70 percent of cases. The National Association of Healthcare Advocacy and the Patient Advocate Foundation connect patients with professional or nonprofit advocates.
The U.S. health care system may be slow and fragmented, but it is not impenetrable. With preparation, patience, and the right questions, it is still possible to find a way through. That might mean asking for multiple referrals, using portals to spot cancellations, or simply knowing how to frame urgency without panic.
These recommendations aren’t shortcuts so much as survival skills—the small, persistent acts patients use to keep the system from shutting them out entirely. It’s about finding agency in a system that often rewards persistence over passivity.
What’s Next: Getting the appointment is only the first victory. Making it count is the next—something we’ll tackle in the following article.
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Back in the 80’s you could get employee Health insurance for a couple of dollar a week. Paid 80% of doctors bills. 100% hospital bills. and 1 dollar prescriptions. And you could go to any doctor anytime you wanted. The government came in and screwed it all up. HMO networks, Deductibles, and nothing good came of it. And the cost sky rocketed through the roof. Also back in the 80’s you could get into a doctor in a day or two. How much the world goes to hell when they tell you they are going to fix something that was not broke.
Eventually A.I. will diagnose symptoms and suggest treatment protocol. Dr. will just sign off.
Oddly you are correct. A few years ago I had to take my wife to the ER at night. I am a gringo that speaks Spanish and my wife is from Mexico and highly educated here in the USA and an American citizen that speaks perfect English. In the waiting room were about 20 people all speaking Spanish. My wife could identify their accents by states in Mexico but not for of those from Central America.
I suspect my wife was the only one with insurance.
I do not use the term mojado as it is an insult, but I do not want them here.
I needed to see an ENT doc this week. Called on Monday and was seen on Tuesday morning.
I wanted a whole-body scan on a DEXA scanner (body fitness, visceral fat, bone density). My insurance said they don’t cover it, so I paid the $95 out of pocket and got it done on Tuesday. Then on Thursday, I got a message from insurance saying that they had gotten a referral for the scan from my doctor and insurance approved it! I calle the clinic billing department this morning and they are billing insurance. When insurance pays, I’ll get the refund.
The specialist with the longest wait time is the skin doc. He’s often broke a month or more out.
I had a pulmonary embolism 17 months ago. Spent one night in the hospital then see my hematologist on an outpatient basis once a year. Getting in to see my hematologist for a follow-up has been a breeze.
I have no complaints at all...except for the almost 10X jump in insurance price for 2026! But I’m on a plan where i can see a doc in-network or out-of-network because I split time between Idaho and California.
I’m in Atlanta and betting appointments is not usually a problem.
Meh. A month ago, I made an appt for Hubby to get his teeth cleaned. So, in November, the first available appointment is in MAY. Holy crap!
A bunch of doctors retired rather than be forced to take people that didn’t pay for their care or have to treat people IAW government rules. Thanks, Obummer.
Review
What state? Everyone should mention their state before suggesting it can be quick where they live. We lived in Ohio until three years ago and could get in with a specialty or even establish care with a new PCP within a few days. Moved to Mew Mexico and first appt for a cardiologist schedule was 9 months or longer. Had kidney stones and first available was 9 months out. Medical care here is abysmal due to blue state politics.
Seems like there's an urgent care facility within a couple miles of each other.
Anyhow, I've been an active patient over the past year: two cataract removals, six months of neuropathy treatments, quarterly visits to my endocrinologist, and my primary care physician signed me up for iGlucose, where my morning blood glucose readings are transmitted electronically.
The availability of health care must be a factor in the growth of residents in North Texas: we're up to 8 million in DFW.
That's often my first line of treatment, good 'ol Dr. Google.
Just remember, faster treatment doesn't always mean better treatment. You are the one who controls your own healthcare.
I’ll go to Urgent Care if all I need is a prescription (like antibiotics or pain relief for things like sciatica or Rheumatoid Arthritis flares). Anything more serious than that, I go to the ER. That guarantees access to quick diagnostic tests and ER Doc’s access to consult with specialty docs like cardiology. I’ve had 2 heart attacks, a minor stroke, and 4 angioplasties for blocked arteries. One time, I went to the ER due to a prolonged bout of vomiting and diarrhea that left me severely dehydrated. I knew Urgent Care couldn’t run IVs to give fluids. In this current environment we really need to be discerning about own health care and make judgements on what can wait and what warrants going to Urgent Care or Emergency.
I am retired USAF. Rarely do I wait more than a few days at the active duty USAF hospital. 👍
Sorry.
Indiana
That's because you live in the United States now!
I see a physician run practice and have for 30+ years. They run a same day 7 day a week practice. They treat their physicians well. Have a lot of young mothers practicing.
or worse...your insurance changes and you have to start the wait all over again...
I’ve used Patient First as my primary care “physician” for years. They handle most things for me. Wife still has a primary care physician and waits weeks or months for an appointment.
As far as sports injuries, I'm lucky, my nephew is a surgeon. On several occasions, he was able to get me appointments with specialists he knew for whatever physical problems ailing me, in a relatively short period of time.
However, I just tried to get an appointment on my own with a hand specialist and was told there was nothing available in the near future. So I passed on it.
I have the names of two other specialists I can call and hope for the best.
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