Same-day service: why healthcare cannot continue to be the exception

Abstract

Access to care—defined by the National Academy of Medicine as ‘the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best health outcome’—represents one of the critical public health issues facing society across all populations.1 While barriers to access include those related to logistical coordination, insurance coverage, financial resources, social determinants and/or provider availability, the expedient delivery of healthcare has been well established as a key performance indicator of quality. However, data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality continue to show that approximately 15% of adults in the USA cannot access healthcare in a reasonably rapid fashion.2 Indeed, wait times for appointments are not only frustrating and anxiety-provoking for patients but can adversely impact health outcomes. According to one survey from 2022, the average wait time for a new physician appointment in large metropolitan markets in the USA was a staggering 26 days.3 In areas plagued by physician shortages such as rural communities, the wait times are naturally even more pronounced. Moreover, data from other industrialised countries within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development seem to suggest that the observed delays in obtaining health services may in fact be worsening.4–6 Due to the practical challenges and inconveniences inherently involved in scheduling appointments, same-day visits have been proposed as a patient-centric means of increasing access to care. On the surface, the proposition is an appealing one—it provides patients with an unprecedented opportunity to be seen by a provider seemingly within hours. In a world where everything from laundry cleaning, food delivery, automobile repairs, hair appointments and entertainment, among a litany of other services, can be scheduled at a moment’s notice, it makes fundamental sense that the one entity that individuals value more than anything— their health—should be prioritised in such a similar fashion. Considering …