Medical Economics (3/26, Littrell) reports, “A recent study suggests that patients often prefer to wait for an appointment with their own primary care physician (PCP) – particularly for chronic condition management, mental health care and other sensitive issues. It’s when symptoms are acute or urgent that speed becomes the priority.” Researchers found 94.1% of surveyed patients reported seeing a PCP, and 71.4% said it was “extremely important” to have a personal physician. More than “half of patients expressed a strong preference to only see their own physician for follow-ups involving mental health (56.8%), chronic conditions (54.6%) or annual checkups (52.6%).” Researchers stated that “most patients are willing to wait three to four weeks to see their own PCP for certain types of visits.” But only “17.1% of respondents preferred to wait to see their own physician for a new symptom, and only 7.2% said they would wait for their PCP when experiencing an urgent concern.” The study was published in the Annals of Family Medicine.
Related Links:
— “Patients are willing to wait to see their own doctor,” Austin Littrell, Medical Economics, March 26, 2025