Ultimately, even the nerd doctors will send you to a specialist if you need it.
I like my current doctor a lot. He runs his own independent practice and is just generally really cool.
In much of the US finding a PCP who is accepting new patients is hard. And the ones that are accepting new patients are unlikely to be one of the good noes.
We just got a doctor appointment now after scheduling in September. Went into the office and the receptionist explained “oh, sorry, Doctor X is busy and can’t make his appointment. Next available is in July.”
It’s always funny when people say “universal healthcare will have long wait times for doctors like in Europe!!” This is is currently happening in the USA.
In terms of walk-in, there's "urgent care" and similar things. And of course the emergency room if the need is severe. Telehealth was vastly expanded during the pandemic and has stuck around to a significant degree.
Just checking my doctor's group, they have multiple appointments available for new or existing patients in all 7 of their locations around Austin as early as Tuesday - and that's probably only because Monday is a holiday. The only caveat is that you have to accept whichever doctor is available, rather than selecting you PCP.
I know it's a big country with a lot of variability of experience, but this has been the case everywhere I've lived.
I don't know about that. The missus had a problem, had to see a specialist, they first said next slot is in 1.5 months, then she read her blood test over the phone and they scheduled her in like 3-4 days. TBH that wasn't funny at all, the 1.5 months appointment would have looked ... healthier.
Eastern Europe where the universal health care isn't considered great.
[Posting as throwaway because the missus can be identified by my HN nick]