# Doctors not accepting new patients **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 17, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852 "2017-05-17T17:01:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/race_to_the_bottom)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/1 "2017-05-17T17:01:06Z")
My wife is looking for a primary care doctor. We live in the Portland Oregon area. It seems that every office she calls is not accepting new patients or will put her on a waiting list for NEXT YEAR. We have excellent insurance, but they never even get to the point of asking about that. Is this typical? Is there actually a doctor shortage in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/2 "2017-05-17T17:38:20Z")
Uh, yeah, that’s pretty much common knowledge. > **[A Doctor Shortage? Let’s Take a Closer Look (Published 2016)](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/08/upshot/a-doctor-shortage-lets-take-a-closer-look.html)** > > Evidence suggests that the nation’s medical system is not so much understaffed as it is inefficient. > **[America’s facing a shortage of primary-care doctors](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americas-1-million-doctor-shortage-is-right-upon-us-2016-04-01)** > > The doctor Americans interact with most regularly is also becoming much more difficult to see. > **[New report predicts "troubling" shortage of doctors in the U.S.](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doctor-shortage-us-impact-on-health/)** > > Health care is changing rapidly, which makes predictions complicated, experts say ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/3 "2017-05-17T18:28:28Z")
If you want to talk doctor shortage, try to find a child psychiatrist taking on new patients. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/4 "2017-05-17T18:39:16Z")
I don’t know if yours does, but my insurance company’s website has a directory of physicians in their network. They make it easy to search for those near me who are accepting new patients. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/5 "2017-05-17T19:07:29Z")
I recently switched doctors and had a devil of a time finding a new one. Even when my insurance supplied me with a list of those supposedly accepting new patients, they really weren’t. It was truly a pain. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/6 "2017-05-17T19:25:22Z")
There has been a shortage for many years and yes, it is going to get worse. I personally believe the issue is complicated further by the failure of Congress to determine if or to what extent they will fund the subsidies under Obamacare for 2018. Insurance companies can’t plan what plans to offer or how to price them, because they don’t know if they will be reimbursed for them yet. This is part of the reason you’re seeing providers pulling out of states entirely and I am sure that is impacting doctors’ decisions about whether or not to take on new patients as well. When Republicans say that Obamacare is failing, they’re not kidding – because they’re making sure it does. Good luck in finding a physician. It’s equally challenging here in the Eugene area. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/7 "2017-05-17T21:35:14Z")
Call your local hospital, ask to speak to a social worker, and ask if they have a list of doctors accepting new patients. Sometimes an urgent care will also have doctors accepting patients. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/8 "2017-05-17T21:57:53Z")
I swear I remember reading a few years ago about caps on the number of medical students/new doctors each year. I think it was regarding US. It was something to the effect that, either through professional organization caps or limited number of medical schools, there were far fewer doctors per capita in the US than there were a few decades ago. I cannot find anything on it at the moment, though, so it’s quite possible I’m remembering. I do have the impression nurses are getting more responsibilities and more non-doctor, paid-less, medical professions exist now than in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/9 "2017-05-17T22:31:28Z")
> [@race\_to\_the\_bottom](#): > > My wife is looking for a primary care doctor. We live in the Portland Oregon area. It seems that every office she calls is not accepting new patients or will put her on a waiting list for NEXT YEAR. We have excellent insurance, but they never even get to the point of asking about that. Is this typical? Is there actually a doctor shortage in the US? I wish i could say your experience was odd, but it is not. And when/If you find a doctor, getting an appointment in the same month is even hard. Which is very said, if you need the doctors care, having to wait 30 60 or 90 days before you can get in the door could be the difference between getting better and dying for some people. It is also not unusual to find that Doctors your insurance company lists have actually left the network entirely. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/10 "2017-05-17T22:40:39Z")
I am sure I read in another thread that one of the benefits of a privately funded healthcare system was that one could get an appointment easily at a time to suit them. This was in response to criticism of the NHS where we often have to wait a few days for a non-urgent GP appointment; more if you want a specific doctor. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/11 "2017-05-17T23:56:07Z")
I’m on Medicare(over 65) and have a private supplemental insurance policy. Called to get a new GP and have an appointment seven weeks from now. That was the best I could do. Fortunately, I’m not in need of urgent care. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/12 "2017-05-18T00:04:37Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I am sure I read in another thread that one of the benefits of a privately funded healthcare system was that one could get an appointment easily at a time to suit them. This was in response to criticism of the NHS where we often have to wait a few days for a non-urgent GP appointment; more if you want a specific doctor. You are missing the important part - in the case of the NHS, it is the evil gubment denying the appointment 😃 ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/13 "2017-05-18T00:32:26Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > I recently switched doctors and had a devil of a time finding a new one. Even when my insurance supplied me with a list of those supposedly accepting new patients, they really weren’t. It was truly a pain. I guess I am lucky b/c I just switched doctors and was able to find a new one on the first call I made . I have to wait a few weeks to see my new doctor but they were very friendly over the phone and the person I spoke to said she would be glad to set up an appointment for me . This was the first time a doctor’s office said this to me . I bet it’s hard finding a doctor where the OP lived , maybe they should put their names on a few waiting lists and hopefully there will be an opening soon. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/14 "2017-05-18T00:53:54Z")
My Dr. takes new patients except for people on Obamacare. I wonder how common that is. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/15 "2017-05-18T02:26:58Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > I swear I remember reading a few years ago about caps on the number of medical students/new doctors each year. I think it was regarding US. It was something to the effect that, either through professional organization caps or limited number of medical schools, there were far fewer doctors per capita in the US than there were a few decades ago. I cannot find anything on it at the moment, though, so it’s quite possible I’m remembering. The bottleneck is neither medical schools (as there are hordes of foreign medical grads who would love to train and then practice in the US) nor professional organization caps (whatever those are) but rather the number of residency training spots. Hospitals rely on federal funding to train residents, but the number of federally funded residency spots has been largely frozen since 1997. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/16 "2017-05-18T02:39:50Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > My Dr. takes new patients except for people on Obamacare. I wonder how common that is. How would he know? Do some states offer an insurance called ‘Obamacare’? In MA if you are eligible for Masshealth/medicare you get to chose a policy from couple of different insurance providers. The insurance you get is actually pretty good, it isn’t the bottom tier those companies offer. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/17 "2017-05-18T05:20:27Z")
Medical schools are a bottle neck. The have no empty seats. And as Schmendrik noted, every graduate must complete a residency. In the past this has been at least partially, the fault of the doctors themselves. [2009 article.](https://www.forbes.com/2009/08/25/american-medical-association-opinions-columnists-shikha-dalmia.html) “Still, the AMA along with other industry organizations until recently had issued dire warnings of an impending physician “glut” (whatever that means beyond depressing member wages), even convincing Congress to limit the number of residencies it funds to about 100,000 a year. This imposes a de facto cap on new doctors every year given that without completing their residencies from accredited medical schools, physicians cannot obtain a license to legally practice medicine in the U.S. Even foreign doctors with years of experience in their home countries have to redo their residencies–” Traditionally there has been no real incentive within the medical community to create a higher number of doctors because of supply, demand, and pay. I know that new medical schools ARE opening now. Washington State University will begin its inaugural class this fall. They had over 700 applicants for 60 seats. [Link](http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/health-care-inc/2016/12/wsu-new-medical-school-attracted-applicants.html) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/18 "2017-05-18T05:52:13Z")
AIUI, there’s a particular shortage of primary care physicians / GPs, at least in part because becoming a specialist is more attractive to many doctors-in-training (being a specialist is often seen as more prestigious, and may pay more). ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/19 "2017-05-18T09:46:51Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > Medical schools are a bottle neck. The have no empty seats. And as Schmendrik noted, every graduate must complete a residency. In the past this has been at least partially, the fault of the doctors themselves. [2009 article.](https://www.forbes.com/2009/08/25/american-medical-association-opinions-columnists-shikha-dalmia.html) > > “Still, the AMA along with other industry organizations until recently had issued dire warnings of an impending physician “glut” (whatever that means beyond depressing member wages), even convincing Congress to limit the number of residencies it funds to about 100,000 a year. This imposes a de facto cap on new doctors every year given that without completing their residencies from accredited medical schools, physicians cannot obtain a license to legally practice medicine in the U.S. Even foreign doctors with years of experience in their home countries have to redo their residencies–” > > Traditionally there has been no real incentive within the medical community to create a higher number of doctors because of supply, demand, and pay. > > I know that new medical schools ARE opening now. Washington State University will begin its inaugural class this fall. They had over 700 applicants for 60 seats. [Link](http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/health-care-inc/2016/12/wsu-new-medical-school-attracted-applicants.html) Again, medical schools are not the bottleneck. The only effect of opening new American schools will be to reduce the number of foreign graduates practicing here. The number of new practicing physicians is limited by the availability of residency spots. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2017, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852/20 "2017-05-18T10:10:24Z")
Ignorance fought. Thanks for correcting my misconception. This is an article describing the limited number of residencies available. [link](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/darryl-s-weiman-md-jd/who-pays-for-resident-sal_b_12967008.html) That leads to several questions. Teaching hospitals are getting free labor (paid for by the government), doesn’t seem right, I would think all moderately sized hospitals would be pushing for for a piece of the pie. Who is stopping expansion of the program? The AMA or the government? . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-not-accepting-new-patients/786852.md?page=2)