MSAs with longest average wait times for next available appointment for new patients

  1. 70 days: Boston
  2. 47 days: Cincinnati
  3. 46 days: Charlotte
  4. 45 days: Atlanta and Minneapolis
  5. 44 days: Seattle
Notes: MSA: Metropolitan statistical area. Adopting a “secret shopper” approach, the study contacted nearly 4,000 physician practices in 23 major cities across the US, posing as a new, commercially insured patient seeking care for general, nonemergent conditions that typically don’t require a physician referral.

Source: ECG Management Consultants via Beckers, July 2024 - https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/strategy/the-38-day-delay-what-the-wait-t…