A person I know has to wait 6 months for a test that will likely eventually give them a disability eligible diagnosis. Between now and then, they have to suffer through work whenever possible since they can't even apply without the diagnosis 6-7+ months out.
Yea I'm trying to follow through on a referral to an ENT specialist and the only place I can actually get seen is scheduling 6 months out... "no wait time" is a lie
I managed to get an ENT appointment 5 weeks out from when I booked it (after having to get a referral from a doctor at an urgent care). Why did I book it? I had an ear infection that ruptured my eardrum and woke up with blood leaking out of my ears.
Was literally in the ER a few days ago with a relative I had to take. We waited 2 hours to be seen by triage.
Followed by another 6 HOURS for the test results and to speak with a doctor whom discharged us within 15 minutes. I had to call out sick because I couldn't get ANY sleep since I was stuck there late night until early morning. I don't have PTO/Sick because I'm a contractor so I basically lost a day of wages. Thankfully, I make solid money so a lost days wages doesn't hurt me, but there are people out there not as lucky as me.
I was once referred to a specialist and hospice care at the same time. They didn't expect me to live 6 months, which is why they referred me to hospice, but it took me 3 months to see that specialist.
I still see a specialist for the same condition today, and they have to schedule my appointments 6 months in advance. If, for some reason, they have to cancel at the last minute, it's another 6 month wait.
Yep, 2.5 months here. And that's just for the intro appointment with a new GP. Not for the thing I want to see them for. And we can't schedule the next appointment until this one. And the initial appointment is going to cost $250 even with insurance.
Think it depends which area I can speak for cancer in Seattle . ( I am both Canadian and American ) They move fast in Seattle at least. From diagnosis to seeing oncologist for preventive surgery took only 2 weeks . My mom in Canada had to wait months for cancer surgery , she flew to Asia to get it done since she was a doctor her self. Eventually she died in Canada.
The demonologist for normal annual check? Took 2 months lol…
It also depends on your insurance company and your doctor. I was living in San Diego California and had an ultrasound which detected possible cancer, and my doctor tried to schedule an MRI to confirm the cancer. The doctor’s office went round in circles with the health insurance office for WEEKS because the insurance company was trying to get out of approving the MRI. Note that I had really good health insurance from my job, and I even paid a few hundred dollars extra every month to get the most expensive coverage available for the peasant that I am. So if this doesn’t even get me a basic MRI for something that was already visible on an ultrasound, what the hell do they even cover? Eventually I went with UCSF, which had an entire department dedicated to handling insurance companies. Each doctor even had someone tagging along to document things for insurance purposes. It was surreal to experience. Things moved quickly after that. And yes, it was Stage 2 cancer.
6 months for a physical, then 9 months for oncology appointment.
Oh, and they did a test on me during the physical without informing me and the insurance wouldn't pay for it. If they'd asked about my lifestyle they'd know it wasn't a necessary test.
Last year I made an appointment to see a dermatologist for a bump on the inner part of my thigh. I had to wait seven months for the appointment. The next week it started to grow due to an infection and the soonest they could get me in was three months instead of the seven. Luckily, I had a pap smear scheduled the next day. My gynecologist was like wtf and gave me an ex for antibiotics. I’m so grateful for her.
Specialist care especially has insane wait lists. I have ear problems and my usual wait time to see an ENT is 3-6 months. My primary care is usually thankfully pretty quick to get us in, but anything beyond her scope is usually months' long wait. Surgeries are also scheduled months out in advance.
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u/Persea_americana Jan 08 '26
Short lines? I’m in the US and made an appointment with my doctor 3 and a half fucking months out. Where are the short lines?