Minorities Spend 25% More Time in the Waiting Room

The JAMA Internal Medicine recently published a report on how race impacts time spent waiting for a doctor. Here are some key findings from the article:

·         The total time it takes to see a health-care provider is 25% longer for minorities.

·         White Americans spent an average of 80 minutes waiting for or receiving care.

·         Hispanic patients spent 105 minutes waiting for or receiving care.

·         Black Americans spent 99 minutes waiting for or receiving care.

·         Black and Hispanic people also spent nearly 10 minutes longer traveling to their appointments.

·         Face-to-face time with a doctor was nearly identical across racial and ethnic groups, at about 20 minutes.

Source: JAMA Internal Medicine, October 5, 2015