Patients seeking care from a primary care physician in Massachusetts are in for a long wait: It takes an average of 39 days for new patients to get an appointment with a family practice physician and 50 days for a visit with an internist, according to a report by The Boston Globe.
The long appointment wait times are due in part to the fact that about half of the state's primary care physicians aren't taking new patients, according to the report. In addition, long patient wait times are compounded by the general lack of primary care physicians in Massachusetts.
The report suggests training more physicians in-state by opening primary care residency programs, as well as using team-based care or the medical home model as ways to bring more physicians to the state and make the healthcare system more efficient.
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