How long have you had to wait for a specialist?

[cags]

I was just reading an article about Canada's healthcare system, and people having to wait for specialists.

And it dawned on me while reading it, the number of times I have had to wait for a specialist in America.

My last migraine specialist was a 5 month wait, luckily for me after 2 and 1/2 months he had a cancelation. So I was wondering how many Americans also have to wait for specialists.

[truedelphi]

1. Kaiser in Northern California SUCKS

As my COBRA coverage was running out, the radiology department called to tell me that I should come in and have more ultra sound work done.

The radiology department at Kaiser is excellent. I thanked them for the reminder call, and pointed out that the work wouldn't do me much good - as by the time the doctor who would read me the results would see me, I would no longer be part of the Kaiser system. Now I wish I'd had the work done on their dime and then the new doctors could interpret for me, but at the time, I was so mad that it took anywhere from four to ten weeks to get in to see a doctor.

[LNM]

3. You may be glad you didn't have it done.

If they had found something and then your Cobra ran out, you may be rejected by your new insurance company due to an existing condition.

[Jeep789]

11. Exactly What I've Been Thinking

My HMO has been begging me to come in for exams they schedule based on age but I am thinking now would not be a great time to get screenings done. Hopefully they will pass legislation forbidding health insurance providers upping charges on or excluding people based on prior or existing conditions so I can get screened without fear of not being insurable. This is ridiculous.

[truedelphi]

15. Yes, that may well have been my thinking.

And isn't it criminal that people have to put off screenings that the medical industry tells us may prevent our deaths - because unless we put them off, we cannot get coverage elsewhere!!

[shadowrider]

2. In non-serious cases

Longest I've waited is 2 days. In cases where it could have been potentially life-threatening, my appointment was immediate after my doctor called the specialist. They were waiting for me when I walked through the door.

[Donnachaidh]

4. you had migraines and waited months for a specialist?

Umm, do you live in a small town? Not a knock, but anyone in this country near a city shouldn't be waiting for specialists that long.

[cags]

9. No I live near Dallas, TX... My primary gave me two choices...

The one with the longer wait was the better one and closest to me.

The other one was a short wait but I wanted the better one.

I was having migraines 15 days out of every month, I wanted the better one. It was a good choice too, he has helped immensely. He was kinda creepy but worth the advice. I'm surprised that none of my primary care doctors ever suggested a specialist before. I've been dealing with migraines for 15 yrs, and spending ridiculous amounts of money on prescriptions and fighting with insurance because the cost of the medication was outrageous.

The specialist put me on a $10 a month RX for angina (which I don't have)LOL. And my migraines are almost non-existant. I'm kinda pissed that I could have saved so much money if any doctor had prescribed that medicine for me.

[cags]

13. I also want to add that I have pretty good insurance too

[Donnachaidh]

19. you may have good insurance, but you have a sucky primary care doctor

My husband suffered from migraines, too. To the point that we had to rush him to the ER several times one year. Our primary care doctor called around until he could get him into one immediately. Considering how much we were paying for insurance, I wouldn't expect any less.

With all the doctors that are out there, setting a patient up with a doctor that has waiting periods of a month or more is just wrong. YMMV. :shrug:

[cags]

21. Apparently he was the best around here... I am pleased with the service

[RobinA]

24. With "Good" Insurance

why in the world did you have a choice of two migraine Drs in a town the size of Dallas? I have had to wait a week or less for specialists in nonemergancy situations. In one emergency I went to see an orthopod and waited for what seemed like two weeks in his office, but really it was only three hours. Everybody was breaking bones that day. I fell asleep from the Vicodan they gave me in the emergency room the night before, so I didn't really care.

[truedelphi]

16. So glad for you that relief finally was yours.

I had similar experiences with muscle cramps. Went to doctor to doctor for ten years, and then found a doctor whose first query was "I shouldn't mentionn this specific pain killer, because you've probably already tried it"

It was exactly the one I needed, but no one else had thought of it for me.

[Warpy]

5. I had insurance in 1985

and a well documented chronic illness that required close attention.

It took me 3 months to get an appointment with a specialist within the insurance system, and then it was a last minute cancellation that got me in.

I lost all hope of getting insurance in 1987 and my wait to see a specialist for my illness shrank to 3 to 5 weeks. I can see the doc I have now on very short notice, 2 days at the most.

For profit insurance is the problem, folks. Getting rid of it will be the first step to a solution.

[pipi_k]

6. Not due to anything other than

the guy being extraordinarily busy, I'm sure...but Mr Pip has currently been waiting 5 (or even 6) months to see an orthopedic surgeon for consultation for knee replacement surgery.

[Cerridwen]

7. As with other countries', I think waiting times will depend on

many things here in the US.

Including:

Whether or not you have insurance.
What kind of insurance, HMO, PPO, etc.
The area in which you live, the number of, if any, specialists in your area.
What your insurance, if you have any, will cover.
Your economic situation if you don't have insurance.
What your co-pay is.

Etc., etc., etc.

That's why those stories about other countries are specious. They ignore the very factors that influence health care availability in our country in a for-profit system and attempt to attribute the problem in other countries with their health care system.

[DevonRex]

8. About the same as you. More than 2 months for some and the longest

was 6 months for the one who had been highly recommended. So I went to another one who had been recommended and waited over 2 months to see him.

[EFerrari]

10. I can't afford a GP let alone a specialist. n/t

[leftyclimber]

12. Nine months

to get a second opinion after I blew out my knee. I'd been referred to a guy whose advice was "If your knee hurts, don't take the stairs" -- this at a time when I had a chance to make the national team in my particular sport. No MRI, just a cursory examination and "don't take the stairs."

I was to a point where I was in enough pain that I felt constant nausea and I couldn't do basic physical activity. This first guy accused me TWICE of being a hypochondriac and told me there was nothing wrong with my knee. The second guy, who was one of the top sports docs in the country (and in my PPO network), had me under the knife two weeks after he saw me, and pain-free and running six weeks after surgery. Dude #1 pretty much demolished any opportunity I might have had to go to the Olympics, because I lost the year of competition that I needed to score the necessary points to make the team. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

The longest I waited in Canada was six weeks to get a CAT scan after I'd gotten knocked out playing hockey and was showing signs of post-concussion syndrome.

[MountainLaurel]

14. Over the past three years

GI doc: 3 months
Psychiatrist: 4 months
OB/GYN: 2 months
Dermatologist: 1 month

[RobinA]

25. GYN

is the worst by far in this area for non-emergencies.

[Tracer]

17. In the past 4 years:

Surgeon - 1 week.
Oncologist - 1 day.
Urologist - 3 weeks.

Getting a mammogram is the longest wait! Gotta make that appointment a good 4 or 5 months in advance.

[madokie]

18. I use the VA and hardly ever have to wait for anything

most times when I have something wrong and I go there I come home that night, if I come home that is, knowing whats the matter and when I don't they have me in a bed. I wish that every one had a health care system like the VA is here in OK. It works good for us Okie Vets.

[Theobald]

20. Two weeks

I had to wait two weeks for a foot doctor to look at my achiles tendon. He is the only specialist I have ever seen.

[distantearlywarning]

22. Yeah, I always hear this as a RW argument against nationalized health care

The last time I had to see a specialist I had to wait nearly 6 months. And I have really good health insurance compared to a lot of people out there. And then the specialist sucked once I got there.

So how bad could Canada be?

[emilyg]

23. 1 week for a G.I. specialist.

[ieoeja]

26. 2-3 months when I had an HMO. 1 week with PPO.

The PPO 100/80 had same coverage, much greater flexibility, and was less expensive than the HMO. So naturally all my yuppie peers enrolled in the HMO leaving me the only person in the PPO forcing my employer to have to drop the PPO.

{sigh}

[Fearless]

27. Ok, let me put it in this perspective...

There are people (some few) in Canada or Britain or France or where ever that have to wait a few months for a doctor's appointment. There are 44 million people in the United States that can't afford health insurance, a vast majority of which NEVER get to see that specialist and if they do, are paying for it for YEARS.

The whole "so-and-so had to wait x number of months" argument is just a Big Pharma talking point aimed at keeping the status quo.

[AlCzervik]

28. last time was about 2 weeks.

[Babette]

29. My doctor referred me to an endocrinologist in April...

I couldn't get an appointment until December!! This in the Chicago area. Luckily they had a cancellation in October and I got to see her.

[TwilightGardener]

30. Tricare (military health care)--less than a week to see an ENT doc for my son.

Not complaining at all.