A Hidden Cost of Health Care: Patient Time

Americans age 15 and older collectively spent 847 million hours waiting for medical services to be provided in 2007.

The average American spent 1.1 hours a week obtaining health care in 2007.

And only about 45 minutes with the doctor per year.

Considering that “waiting time is money,” Americans “spent” the equivalent of $240 billion on health care in 2007. Put another way, omitting patients’ time caused national health care expenditures to be undercounted by 11 percent in 2007.

Therein lies the reason why Hello Health members reserve a time slot with their doctor. If your appointment is reserved from 10 to 10:30 am, you’ve paid for your doctor’s time and therefore it’s yours – even if you’re late. It’s a system built on mutual respect for each other’s time. So you can be assured that a doctor visit can be done on your lunch break.

A Hidden Cost of Health Care: Patient Time