Nearly a third of patients taking part in a survey from Vitals say they’ve walked out on a physician appointment because they had to wait so long—and 20% have been so put off by wait times that they’ve switched doctors altogether. No surprise, then, that the Wait Time Report also reveals that 84% of people believe the amount of time they have to wait to see a medical provider is either “somewhat important” or “very important” to their overall experience during a visit. All this in spite of the fact that average wait time across multiple settings have been on the decline in recent years, to the point that the average is now 18 minutes, 13 seconds. Especially relevant to the urgent care operator: The longest average wait time was in the emergency room (24 minutes, 41 seconds); patients have to cool their heels an average of 22 minutes before seeing a primary care physician.
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News Flash: Patients Hate to Wait—and That Matters When Choosing a Provider