Wait times

Read it this way The line only climbs, and 2022-to-2025 is its steepest segment, so the 31-day average is part of a worsening multi-year trend, not a plateau. Because the survey added gastroenterology as a sixth specialty in 2025, part of that final jump reflects a change in what's being measured, not only longer waits for the same mix of doctors. Use this chart to identify which access bottleneck it is showing, delay, payer acceptance, geography, or capacity, and to decide which part of the recommended access portfolio should own the fix.

AMN Healthcare (Merritt Hawkins), 2025 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times · 2025 · source

Read it this way Bars above the 31-day reference line, OB/GYN, gastroenterology, dermatology, and cardiology, are pulling the average up, while orthopedic surgery and family medicine sit well below it. The table shows most specialties got worse since 2022, but orthopedic surgery actually improved, from 16.9 to 12.0 days. Use this chart to identify which access bottleneck it is showing, delay, payer acceptance, geography, or capacity, and to decide which part of the recommended access portfolio should own the fix.

AMN Healthcare (Merritt Hawkins), 2025 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times · 2025 · source

Read it this way The width of each box shows how much a patient's wait depends on which of the 15 metros they live in, not just their specialty: dermatology spans 6 to 103 days. A tight box, like orthopedic surgery's 4-to-22-day range, means the wait is fairly predictable regardless of metro. A wide one means metro matters as much as specialty. Use this chart to identify which access bottleneck it is showing, delay, payer acceptance, geography, or capacity, and to decide which part of the recommended access portfolio should own the fix.

AMN Healthcare (Merritt Hawkins), 2025 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times · 2025 · source

Read it this way Metros to the right of the reference line, led by Boston at 65 days and Portland at 57, wait roughly double the national average, while Atlanta and New York sit near a third of it. This is a composite across six specialties per metro, so it can't show whether one specific specialty is driving any single metro's position. Use this chart to identify which access bottleneck it is showing, delay, payer acceptance, geography, or capacity, and to decide which part of the recommended access portfolio should own the fix.

AMN Healthcare (Merritt Hawkins), 2025 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times · 2025 · source

Read it this way These four cases, up to 291 days for dermatology in Portland, are the single longest waits recorded anywhere in the survey, not typical waits for those metro-specialty pairs. They show how bad the worst case can get, but say nothing about how often waits that extreme actually occur. Use this chart to identify which access bottleneck it is showing, delay, payer acceptance, geography, or capacity, and to decide which part of the recommended access portfolio should own the fix.

AMN Healthcare (Merritt Hawkins), 2025 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times · 2025 · source

Read it this way In every specialty the Medicaid bar is shorter than the Medicare bar, and the gap is widest in dermatology (75% vs 26%). This measures new-patient acceptance, not actual wait times or care quality once a patient is seen, so it can't tell you how the visit itself compares. Use this chart to identify which access bottleneck it is showing, delay, payer acceptance, geography, or capacity, and to decide which part of the recommended access portfolio should own the fix.

AMN Healthcare (Merritt Hawkins), 2025 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times · 2025 · source

Read it this way Metros left of the 53% reference line, especially New York (28%), Dallas (30%), and Houston (31%), are where a Medicaid card is least likely to get a new patient in the door, while Detroit and Boston sit well above average. This is a composite across specialties, so it can mask a specialty like dermatology, where Medicaid acceptance runs even lower nationally. Use this chart to identify which access bottleneck it is showing, delay, payer acceptance, geography, or capacity, and to decide which part of the recommended access portfolio should own the fix.

AMN Healthcare (Merritt Hawkins), 2025 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times · 2025 · source

Read it this way The share is essentially flat across four years, easing only slightly to 33.3% by 2022, so roughly a third of adults with serious mental illness go untreated in any given year with no clear improvement. The line alone can't say why: cost, provider shortage, and stigma can all contribute, and this chart can't separate them. Use this chart to identify which access bottleneck it is showing, delay, payer acceptance, geography, or capacity, and to decide which part of the recommended access portfolio should own the fix.

SAMHSA, Results from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health · 2022 · source

Read it this way The three insured categories cluster tightly around 53 to 55%, but the uninsured bar drops to 29.4%, roughly half. That gap licenses the conclusion that having any coverage matters far more for getting mental-health treatment than which type of coverage a person has. Use this chart to identify which access bottleneck it is showing, delay, payer acceptance, geography, or capacity, and to decide which part of the recommended access portfolio should own the fix.

SAMHSA, 2022 NSDUH Detailed Tables (Table 6.22B) · 2022 · source