Health care
BY BRITTANY ANDERSON
Physician burnout, fewer medical residency slots and demand outpacing provider availability are leading to longer doctor appointment wait times in Central Texas, according to Austin-based Harbor Health Drs. Clay Johnston and Luci Leykum. Austin’s rapid growth has made the local health care system unable to keep up with demand, Johnston said, and fewer primary care physicians and specialists have led to longer wait times across the city. “The bottom line is that the finances that Burnout, high demand behind long wait times
Diving in deeper
Health care wait times
A 2022 study surveying over 1,000 offices across 15 major metropolitan areas including Dallas and Houston found that average wait times were:
Part of physician burnout is driven economi- cally, Johnston said, as some systems attempt to keep revenue high by increasing the number of patients physicians see in a day. More physicians in the U.S. are also being employed by larger health care organizations instead of independent practices, Leykum said, which could give them less autonomy over their schedule. “You put that on top of a situation where people were maybe less likely to make a choice to pursue primary care to begin with, and it sort of has a synergistic effect,” Leykum said. According to Leykum and Johnston, patients can help combat longer wait times by: • Finding a clinic that has a team-based care model • Utilizing telehealth when able • Asking clinics what its average wait times are for routine or urgent needs
• 16.9 days for an orthopedic surgeon appointment • 20.6 days for a family medicine physician appointment
• 26.6 days for a cardiologist appointment • 31.4 days for an OB- GYN appointment
SOURCE: AMN HEALTHCARE/COMMUNITY IMPACT
support those specialties just aren’t as strong,” Johnston said. Patients also often visit urgent cares to avoid longer wait times, but these clinics don’t offer holistic care, Leykum said. “They’re very focused on, ‘How do we address this to stabilize it?’ not, ‘How do we really get at the root of the problem?’” Leykum said.
Supply vs. demand
Major takeaways
A state report projects that five specialties will be deficient in graduate medical education residents by 2032.
of graduate medical education residents will not keep up with demand. Of five specialties projected, pediatric physicians would have the largest gap with only 71% of demand met. General internal medicine physicians would need the most residency slots added each year, with 70 slots needed.
The rate of medical school graduates is ultimately greater than the state’s ability to train them, Johnston said. This can lead to fewer physicians staying to practice in Texas. Graduates must complete a residency program upon graduating, but limited slots are available in Texas each year. A 2022 Texas Department of State Health Services report projected that by 2032, the supply
2032 demand
2032 supply
9,004
Family medicine General internal medicine
11,499
7,759
10,366
3,783
OB-GYN
4,210
4,675
Pediatrics
6,588
2,852
Psychiatry
3,895
SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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