Best Time To Book An Appointment With A Doctor

Note to self: If you need to see the doctor last-minute, Tuesday is probably the best day to try your luck.

Data recently released from ZocDoc, an online service that helps patients find doctors and dentists, shows that while Tuesday is the most popular day for doctor appointments, it's also the day with the most last-minute openings.

However, for pediatricians, the most popular day for doctor appointments is
Monday, while for dietitians, it's Wednesday. Acupuncturists' busiest day is Friday, and chiropractors' busiest days are Monday and Friday, the data showed.

But when it comes to the most popular appointment of the week, it's Friday at 10 a.m., followed closely by Friday at 2 p.m. (these times are also the most popular on the other days of the week).

There are also better and worse days for wait times: If you really hate your doctor's waiting room, Monday is your best bet. If you're interested in settling in with a good magazine, note that Thursday tends to have the longest wait time.

The findings are based on an analysis of all of the appointments booked through ZocDoc over the past year. The data show some particularly interesting findings about the medical habits of men:

- Preventive appointments booked by men through ZocDoc went up by nearly 100 percent, compared with the same time last year.

- Men are more likely to book appointments for shoulder problems, sleep problems (as well as snoring and sleep apnea), high blood pressure, warts, sports injuries and hearing problems.

Speaking of wait times, recent data from Vitals.com showed that doctor wait times are going up across the board, with the shortest wait time being 16 minutes and 28 seconds in Alaska (last year, the shortest wait time was in Wisconsin, at 15 minutes and 26 seconds). That finding is based on data from 870,000 doctor offices.

source: www.huffingtonpost.com