When you are sick

[Jen500]

how quickly can your doctor's office see you?

I go to a large practice and anytime I've been sick it's 4 weeks. I'm thinking of changing practices, but I'm wondering if this is just typical for adult care? (When my kids are sick, their doctor can see them the same day)

[Katy]

I don’t currently have a doctor, but my last (large practice) could see you same-day by someone, even if your own pcp wasn’t available.. They had an urgent care that took walk in patients only. 

[Myra]

That's why I switched to a private one-doctor practice.  If I call she will squeeze me in that same day!

[Pawz4me]

My primary care practice has an evening and weekend walk-in urgent care. It's been several years since I've been sick enough that I needed to see someone, but that's what I used last time. It just seemed easier to go than to call and try to get an appointment.

And FWIW -- I just saw my PA for my annual visit Monday and she said their practice has temporarily stopped accepting new patients. Because they've been so swamped with Covid patients it was getting impossible for them to see their regular patients in a timely manner, so they definitely can't take on any new patients now. All that to say -- any recent issues may be due to Covid.

[Jann in TX]

I've given up on going to my primary care when I'm sick.  They are for well checks or other health concerns/management- not a cold.

When I have a cold/flu I go to a walk-in urgent care center.  My insurance covers them and they are convenient!  I tend to go to the same one so I actually see those providers more than my primary care-- and the urgent care place sends my records to my primary care so my files are in one location.

If I have a bone injury I try to go to an orthopedic urgent care (or just call my orthopedic dr's office (they know me too well!).  My primary care Dr would automatically refer me to one anyways...

[MEmama]

Same day if it’s that important.

[Spryte]

For DH, same day, though it might not be his regular doc. 

My doc is two hours away now, so we also do a lot through the patient portal, and personal calls/texts. We have known each other since 2005, so yep, we exchanged mobile numbers long ago. We also send silly holiday memes/family photos on most holidays, and I know it’s unusual. If I need to be seen same day, I usually do a televisit with a different provider or go to a local urgent care. If I lived closer, they would get me in for sick visits same day.

Four weeks for an acute illness seems pointless, honestly. That’s not going to help with a sinus infection or strep or flu!

[2_girls_mommy]

So for my kids, their pediatrician's office can potentially get them in if you call before 7:30 am for a same day sick visit, otherwise you wait until the next day.  For emergencies or something I am worried about after 7:30 am, we go to an urgent care office that is near us and not even related to their dr, then call the pediatrician and get in there for a follow up the next day or whenever possible.  This has worked for us for years.  That way we can get antibiotics started in emergencies or Tamiflu started in the first 48 hours of flu or checked for strep throat or whatever immediately.  Then we can double check with a doctor who knows their history better the next day.  Obviously we have very good insurance to be able to go this route. 

For me, I don't even have a primary doctor.  I have an OBgyn, a dentist, an eye dr, etc. but don't have any ongoing medical issues, so I haven't ever chosen one, though as I am getting older, I think it is about time.  If I have something come up like the kids, I will go to the urgent care.  If my kids have a staph infection and I get the same symptoms, and we are following up with their pediatrician for a 2nd opinion on what the urgent care prescribed for the kids, I am usually good with assuming that is what I have too, and that what I got was ok too.  Same goes for flu, strep, etc.  So far even when I had bronchitis, I was ok following up with the urgent care for treatment for that after strep at one point.  

[WildflowerMom]

Within 24 hours, usually same day.   It's one of the reasons I like using a practice with multiple doctors.  There's 3-4 NPs, at least 4 doctors, and a PA or 2.  There's one NP that I will not see unless I'm dying, and I just tell them that when I need a quick sick appt. Otherwise, I always see my regular NP. 

[SKL]

This may sound crazy, but I can't remember being sick in a way that I wanted to see a GP, at least not in the past couple decades.  I've had a few urgent care situations, which obviously did not require an advance appointment.

Whenever I want to make a non-emergency appointment, the time depends on the availability of the specific type of doc I need to see.

If I was sick and wanted to see an MD ASAP, but not urgent care, I would call the nurse line at the health system I usually use.  I tell them what's going on and they give advice / referrals as appropriate.  Hopefully they could find someone to see me soon, but I really don't know.

[Shelydon]

Same day or the next.  I go to a practice with 3 physicians and 3 physician assistants.

[athena1277]

45 minutes ago, Shelydon said:

Same day or the next.  I go to a practice with 3 physicians and 3 physician assistants.

Mine is about the same.  If you are sick and can’t get in for a month, you need a new primary care practice.  That’s not an acceptable amount of time for an urgent need.

[dsmith]

Same day or next for sick visits. They always leave room in the schedule for these. Regular non-sick visits schedule within 2 - 4 weeks. This is a large 6 doctor practice.

[Bambam]

Usually the next day but sometimes the same day.  Doctor and PA working together but part of a larger practice, but you are only seen by your doctor or PA. 
What good is it if you don't get an appointment for weeks? You will be fine (or much, much worse - ER worse) by then. 

[Loowit]

I rarely see my primary care doctor for urgent sicknesses when I need a same day appointment.  Last week when I was sick I called the advice nurse and was sent to urgent care, which is part of the clinic I go to.  I was in and out in about 30 mins.  If I have an urgent need that doesn't need a same day appointment, I can usually get in to see my primary care doctor within a few days, and if she can't fit me in I can see a different provider.

[prairiewindmomma]

Generally, they can't. I'm in a large primary care practice, but with covid so many of them have been looped into also doing hospital care that only 3-4 are in the office on a given day.  

I go to urgent care, which can usually have me be seen same or next day.

[Arcadia]

We have to go to urgent care. My kids’ pediatrician did see my oldest once without appointment because he had hives and we didn’t know what he was allergic to. Normal procedure would be to go to the urgent care unit in the same building for all ages.

[Pam in CT]

Good God.  Another gaping hole in the patched-together US health system.

I'm now in (suburban NYC) CT.  I've lived as an adult in (suburban NYC) New Jersey, Princeton NJ (which is a bit further outside NYC environs but still quite densely populated), Manhattan and Brooklyn. I never, in any of those places, waited more than 1 day to see my regular practice (not necessarily my named PCP, but someone in the practice), when I was sick.

For other stuff,

15 minutes ago, dsmith said:

Same day or next for sick visits. They always leave room in the schedule for these. Regular non-sick visits schedule within 2 - 4 weeks. This is a large 6 doctor practice.

 

Those of you who can't get in to your regular practice, if you're comfortable answering -- what region are you in / how densely or sparsely populated is your area?

 

There are so many reasons why going to a practice that you are familiar with, that has your ongoing records, that refers you to tests / followup care within their network of service providers etc is > going to an unrelated urgent care center.  (My NJ practice was affiliated with a 24/7 urgent care center, which worked GREAT; but that model seems to be rather rare.)

[mlktwins]

Wow, 4 weeks.  I go to a practice with several doctors.  I may not see my regular GP, but I will get in that day - at least I did before Covid.  I have not needed a doctor for a sick visit since Covid started.

 

[fairfarmhand]

Within 24-48 hours

[Matryoshka]

33 minutes ago, dsmith said:

Same day or next for sick visits. They always leave room in the schedule for these. Regular non-sick visits schedule within 2 - 4 weeks. This is a large 6 doctor practice.

This is about the same here.  They leave space in the schedule for same-day sick visits.  If it's something more general and non-urgent, it's going to be a few weeks.  What you can't do is tomorrow or later this week, lol.

[SoCal_Bear]

We go to a large regional practice and can get in via the urgent care clinic onsite if another PCP isn't available. I've sometimes bypassed that if it is something so simple and easy to the CVS clinics to see a NP.

Edited October 6, 2021 by calbear

[HomeAgain]

I can get in immediately.  Our clinic is set up to have a sick care area, where any of us can be seen Mon-Sat, call ahead preferred but not necessary.  It is the main reason we did not switch practices when our favorite doctor left.  It's a regional practice, so there are offices in 3 towns near us and we can be seen at any of them if it comes to it.  They've also gotten ds in for care when he has been injured at practice, and since care is only 2 miles away from his rink, it's well worth staying with them.  I haven't tried out sick hours since COVID began.  I do know that they closed up that part for a long while because they were taking all covid possibilities at specific areas, but I'm not sure now.

If I want to make an annual or other type of visit, it is scheduled at least 2 months in advance.

[Bootsie]

The practice that I use has a special urgent care office at which I can make same-day appointments or be seen as a walk-in if needed.  If I call for a routine, or non-urgent visit, the appointment may be a week or two out, especially if there is a specific doctor I want to see.  

[Pam in CT]

re urgent care/ walk-in facility *attached to/affiliated with* regular ongoing care facility

9 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

The practice that I use has a special urgent care office at which I can make same-day appointments or be seen as a walk-in if needed.  If I call for a routine, or non-urgent visit, the appointment may be a week or two out, especially if there is a specific doctor I want to see.  

Yeah, this is what we had with our NJ practice.  I *loved* that model, especially in the days with little kids with flaring earaches / asthma attacks / minor scrapes & cuts.  It makes so much sense -- here, I had to take them to the ER to get a cut stitched up, which is a waste of all kinds of resources.

[regentrude]

I have selected a practice that has same-day walk-ins, for that very reason.
They have since moved and changed the setup, but they still have a doctor-after-hours/immediate care where you won't see your regular doctor, but A doctor.

Edited October 6, 2021 by regentrude

[EmilyGF]

Usually within the same day, if not, within 24 hours.

Once I went to CVS for a bladder infection because I couldn't get an appointment for two days. Later, my doctor found out and told me how I should have approached scheduling in order to get the appointment the same day. (Not that one can self-advocate well when sick, though.)

Emily

[rebcoola]

It's pretty quick usually maybe not my official doctor but somebody can see you that day.  Well really the next day because I am never up early enough to get the same day appointments.  If it's covid like in any way than you get a virtual appointment and if needed a referral to the Urgent Care through the affiliate hospital for just that.

[Laura Corin]

There's phone triage. Same day if it's urgent. Otherwise a few days. Sometimes a week if I want to see a particular doctor.

[Melissa in Australia]

4 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

There's phone triage. Same day if it's urgent. Otherwise a few days. Sometimes a week if I want to see a particular doctor.

Similar 

 

there are places available for urgent things every day.  If you want a particular GP  for non urgent it can take a week to 10 days

[Momto6inIN]

If I call right when they open, I can almost always see my regular NP the same day. Otherwise they usually have at least 1 Dr in the practice who can see me that day, unless I call very late in the day.

The only time I've ever had to wait more than 24 hrs to see a Dr was in college at the "free" clinic. They routinely scheduled you for sick appts 3 weeks out, which was absurd. I actually ended up in the ER dangerously dehydrated and the docs told my dad I would have been dead the next day after being denied a timely sick appt in college.

No way I'd continue with a doctor's office that treated patients like that.

[catz]

I'm between doctors right now too but we've never ever waited anywhere close to 4 weeks even at a new clinic.  That is bananas.  For acute illness, usually within 24 hours, always within 48.  

[prairiewindmomma]

5 hours ago, Pam in CT said:

Those of you who can't get in to your regular practice, if you're comfortable answering -- what region are you in / how densely or sparsely populated is your area?

 

There are so many reasons why going to a practice that you are familiar with, that has your ongoing records, that refers you to tests / followup care within their network of service providers etc is > going to an unrelated urgent care center.  (My NJ practice was affiliated with a 24/7 urgent care center, which worked GREAT; but that model seems to be rather rare.)

This is true where I am now (PNW) and true where I was living before (Texas).  I was in large metro areas each time.

When I moved here, there was an entire hospital system that had its primary care offices closed to new patients. I called across the entire metro, and talked to central office. 

Have you seen the stats before? https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/primary-care-health-professional-shortage-areas-hpsas/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel={"colId":"Location","sort":"asc"}

 

[lynn]

Because I am known to get bronchitis every couple of years I get in within 24 hours.  I have not had to go in for anything except yearly regular check up.

[YaelAldrich]

@Pam in CT we adults have this issue right here in Boston in the Beth Israel health care system. Not only have we had to move doctors three in three years (because one moved and two left for concierge medicine) we cannot see our PCP within weeks even for relatively urgent care. My DH found a LUMP in his chest and it took 1 week to be seen within the practice virtually. We've heard our doctor is good but we have never met him in over a year and not for trying to get an appointment. Most of the practices near our home in our healthcare system are closed to new patients. I don't want to drive 30 minutes to a doctor when I live in a city. It makes me so upset. We can go to the affiliated urgent care if we really feel it's urgent. 

[lmrich]

three to four weeks so urgent care is the only answer - it makes no sense

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Same day. Or the next day. 

[Garga]

Same day, 24 hours at the most.  i live in a small town of 7000 people surrounded by other small towns of similar size, but within an hour’s drive of 2 cities (one north, one south.). East coast farmland, so I’m not in the boonies of Kansas, but also not in the suburbs of LA.

[ScoutTN]

Generally within 24 hrs., usually same day.  
Family practice with four docs and three nurse practitioners.

Edited October 7, 2021 by ScoutTN

[HS Mom in NC]

I'm in the greater Raleigh, NC area.  I'm half an hour drive from downtown Raleigh if it's not rush hour traffic. My doctor does internal medicine.  His office is 12 minutes from my house.

Last spring I cut the tip of my finger off making dinner.  My neighbor, an ER nurse, cleaned it for me and said I didn't need to go to urgent care that night, I could see my doctor the next day for antibiotics.  I called when they opened and got in to see him before lunch the next day. He keeps enough room in his schedule for urgent appointments.  I had to wait about half an hour in the waiting room, which is double the time I usually spend, but they were working me in, so it was expected.

My husband has the same doctor and has had to get in the same day or the next day depending on what time he called in.

There are a few urgent care options available that we've used a few times after hours and were happy with the care we got.  Sometimes it's even easier because they dispense many of the the meds they prescribe, so you don't have to go to a pharmacy after. One urgent care facility is also set up for regular GP type visits during regular office hours.

[MercyA]

If one of us is feeling really bad, we can often get in the same day or the next morning.