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47 points bookofjoe | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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f6v ◴[] No.42172363[source]
Tried getting an appointment in Denmark. “We don’t take any new patients”. A familiar story when trying to reach many specialists in European countries (Germany, Belgium). Except I doubt they’re getting 500k.
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jjice ◴[] No.42172541[source]
Anecdotal, but I'm in the North East US and I called, and I'm not joking, nine primary care offices. Eight of them said they couldn't take anymore patients, and one said I could get an appointment six months later.

I hadn't needed to go to a primary care doctor in my adult life, but it was mind blowing that this was the case. Many friends of mine have had the same experience.

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bookofjoe ◴[] No.42172871[source]
In mid-2023 I decided it would be good to have a primary care doctor since I was 74 years old at the time and hadn't been to a doctor in decades.

Full disclosure: I am a retired board-certified anesthesiologist.

I asked around town (Charlottesville, Virginia) and got two names from doctors I trust.

The first was not taking new patients; the second was, so I made an appointment: first available appointment was January 2025 (i.e., in 18 months). I happily took it.

I figured maybe this was a way of triaging old people like myself: if we're forced to wait long enough before being seen, maybe we'll die in the meantime so slots will open up.

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1. cafard ◴[] No.42179205{3}[source]
We decided to look for a new primary care doctor in Washington. I was amazed when I read my wife's email to the effect that our physicals were booked for 11/25. Then I understood that this was next year, not next week.