A recent Merritt Hawkins survey tallied the wait for primary and specialty care in 15 major metropolitan areas in 2013. The following are average wait times for all specialties on which Merritt Hawkins collected data (cardiology, dermatology, obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedics and family practice) and for family practice.
|
All specialties (2013) |
All specialties (2009) |
All specialties (2004 —no data for family practice)* |
State ranks: physicians per 100,000 population |
|
Boston — 45.4 days |
Boston — 49.6 days |
Boston — 39 days |
1 — 450.1 |
|
Denver — 23.6 days |
Denver — 19.2 days |
Denver — 22.5 days |
7 — 271.9 |
|
Philadelphia — 20.6 days |
Philadelphia — 27 days |
Philadelphia — 26.5 days |
3 — 322.4 |
|
Portland, Ore. — 19.4 days |
Portland, Ore. — 14.4 days |
Portland, Ore. — 26 days |
6 — 297.6 |
|
Minneapolis — 19.2 days |
Minneapolis — 19.8 days |
Minneapolis — 24.3 days |
10 — 264.1 |
|
Detroit — 17.8 days |
Detroit — 11.9 days |
Detroit — 25.5 days |
9 — 268.1 |
|
Washington, D.C. — 17.8 days |
Washington D.C. — 22.6 |
Washington, D.C. — 11.5 |
4 — 320.1 |
|
New York City — 16.8 days |
New York City — 15.4 days |
New York City — 15.3 days |
2 — 344.6 |
|
San Diego — 16.2 days |
San Diego — 20.2 days |
San Diego — 18.3 days |
8 — 270.2 |
|
Seattle — 16 days |
Seattle — 14.2 days |
Seattle — 18.5 days |
5 — 297.8 |
|
Atlanta — 14 days |
Atlanta — 11.2 days |
Atlanta — 17.5 days |
14 — 212.5 |
|
Houston — 14 days |
Houston — 17.3 days |
Houston — 14.8 days |
13 — 212.5 |
|
Miami — 13.6 days |
Miami — 15.4 days |
Miami — 14.8 days |
12 — 253.7 |
|
Los Angeles — 12.2 days |
Los Angeles — 24.2 days |
Los Angeles — 22.5 days |
11 — 253.9 |
|
Dallas — 10.2 days |
Dallas — 19.2 days |
Dallas — 22 days |
7 — 197.2 |
Chart 1. Waits for care in 15 major metropolitan cities for all specialties, organized according to the city with the longest wait in 2013.
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|
Family practice (2013) |
Family practice (2009) |
|
Boston — 66 days |
Boston — 63 days |
|
New York — 26 days |
New York — 24 days |
|
Atlanta — 24 days |
Atlanta — 9 days |
|
Seattle — 23 days |
Seattle — 8 days |
|
Philadelphia — 22 days |
Philadelphia — 9 days |
|
Los Angeles — 20 days |
Los Angeles — 59 days |
|
Houston — 19 days |
Houston — 17 days |
|
Denver — 16 days |
Denver — 14 days |
|
Detroit — 16 days |
Detroit — 14 days |
|
Washington, D.C. —14 days |
Washington, D.C. — 30 days |
|
Portland, Ore. — 13 days |
Portland, Ore. — 8 days |
|
Miami — 12 days |
Miami — 7 days |
|
Minneapolis — 10 days |
Minneapolis — 10 days |
|
San Diego — 7 days |
San Diego — 24 days |
|
Dallas — 5 days |
Dallas — 8 days |
Chart 2. Waits for care in 15 major metropolitan cities for family practice, organized according to the city with the longest wait in 2013.
*There are no data for family practice wait times in 2004.
For more details, visit Kaiser Health News.
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