November 14, 2024- Patient access is a key driver of patient acquisition, satisfaction and retention – all of which deeply influence care quality and provider revenue. Today, patients seeking convenient and timely care options gravitate toward providers who offer optimal access, whether that means shorter wait times, flexible scheduling or easy connections to specialty services.
According to Premier, Inc., lead times for new patients – the average number of days between a patient’s initial appointment request and completion of the appointment – continue to rise. Premier data shows, on average, a 53 percent increase in lead times since 2020 across all specialties with larger spikes in some areas:
- +74 percent for primary care advanced practice providers (APPs)
- +67 percent for primary care physicians
- +57 percent for medical specialist APPs
- +67 percent for hospital-based physicians