> I showed up for my intake appointment and the young, rushed doctor said they wouldn't enroll me as an official member
"Intake appointment"? "Official member"? What kind of system is this?
"Intake appointment"? "Official member"? What kind of system is this?
All of them in my area have long waiting lists. You don't just show up at the front door like it's an auto mechanic's shop, you call to schedule your annual physical. They're typically booked solid for a few months in advance. Calling to book an appointment requires being a registered patient or member of that office.
If you want to change your primary care physician, you call around and see which offices are accepting new members. If they are, they'll get your medical records transferred and set you up for an intake appointment where they check to make sure that they know your status, and then you are able to schedule future visits.
You certainly don't just call any convenient office and expect to get an appointment in the next couple days, that would be anarchy.
Yet it's exactly what we can do in the UK, I remember needing to see a doctor whilst on Holiday in Scotland, I just phoned the local GP and got an appointment the next day.
In any case, I was talking about places that advertise themselves as urgent care and do care in the style of a basic office visit, not about facilities licensed as freestanding emergency rooms.
Actual urgent care facilities are a fine option if you don't have a PCP or can't get an appointment.
Not any that I have ever been to, and I have been to several across two different metro areas.
> All of them in my area have long waiting lists.
I have yet to encounter a waiting list.
> You don't just show up at the front door like it's an auto mechanic's shop, you call to schedule your annual physical.
Actually, I just book an appointment. Only once have I started out with my physical being the first appointment.
Calling to book an appointment requires being a registered patient or member of that office.
> Calling to book an appointment requires being a registered patient or member of that office.
I am not a "member" of my doctor's office, not have I ever been. I just go on ZocDoc or my insurance company's website, pick a doctor, and make an appointment. Sure, some are marked as "not accepting new patients", but I just ignore those.
> If they are, they'll get your medical records transferred and set you up for an intake appointment where they check to make sure that they know your status, and then you are able to schedule future visits.
I have never had my medical records transferred, nor have I ever had an intake appointment. I just go in, discuss my issues, present any relevant history myself, and go from there. If I ever become dissatisfied, I just start going somewhere else.
> You certainly don't just call any convenient office and expect to get an appointment in the next couple days, that would be anarchy.
That's all I have ever done, so I don't see how I "certainly" don't. In fact, here is a ZocDoc PCP search using my insurance centered on Grand Central:
https://www.zocdoc.com/search?address=Grand%20Central%20Term...
There are seven doctors on that list that I could see today. No intake appointment, no physical, none of this crap you are talking about.
So I ask again, what kind of system are you dealing with?
That's fine, but LeifCarrotson presented an anecdote like it was a universal truth of health care in the US. That's bullshit and that's what I have a problem with.
> long waits and impenetrable bureaucracy has been my experience, as well. My wife is currently trying to get treatment and she's had to wait months to see various doctors and specialists. We live in a metro area in the US.
So, is this some effect of your insurance coverage? Does she require referrals for specialists?
Annual physicals cause harm. You should avoid them unless you meet a reasonably narrow range of criteria.
> They're typically booked solid for a few months in advance.
Even in our underfunded NHS I can get a same-day GP appointment (if it's an emergency) or within 48 hours (if it isn't an emergency). And that's within a range of provision: pharmacy for general advice; 111 telephone service for advice and triage; GP for general stuff; MIU for minor injuries; A&E and 999 for life threatening injury.