Join Washington Hospital Services Industry Partner, Merritt Hawkins on Jan. 10, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. for a webinar on Physician Wait Times 2022 and Physicians: the Great Resignation.
First conducted by Merritt Hawkins in 2004, the 2022 patient “Wait Times” survey tracks average new patient appointment wait times in five specialties in 15 major metropolitan areas (including Seattle). The overall average current wait time is 26 days, up eight percent since the 2017 survey, and up 24 percent since the first survey in 2004. The survey also tracks the percentage of physicians in the five specialties who accept Medicare and Medicaid as forms of payment.
The first part of the webinar will highlight 15 major metropolitan cities that have relatively high physician-to-population ratios – some of the highest ratios in the country. It can be presumed that if wait times are lengthening in these cities, physician access may be even more problematic in communities with fewer physicians per capita. The survey tracked patient wait times for five specialties: family medicine, orthopedic surgery, dermatology, OB/GYN and cardiology.
We will also cover the increase in specialty wait times with an analysis of the “Seven Ps”.
The second part of the webinar will cover Physicians: The Great Resignation, why doctors joined the great resignation and how hospitals can bring them back. How should hospitals, medical groups and other healthcare organizations respond to the current malaise affecting many of their key care providers? What can they do to ensure the effective recruitment and retention of physicians in today’s uniquely challenging market?
For the full survey of physician appointment wait times and Medicare and Medicaid acceptance rates, click here.
Merritt Hawkins is a Washington Hospital Services Industry Partner. The Industry Partner program connects hospitals with product and service organizations to create efficiencies, lower costs and deliver exceptional health care. For more information on Merritt Hawkins or the WHS Industry Partner Program, contact Ed Phippen, edp@wsha.org, (206) 216-2556.
