For patients in need of services covered by Medicare, the typical waittosee a doctor was two or three weeks, and the appointments were made by answering machine.
For example, the average waittosee a new family doctor in this country is just under three weeks, according to a 2009 survey by medical consultancy Merritt Hawkins.
Not long ago, falling sick usually meant a visit to a government facility - often with an interminable waittosee a doctor, a brief examination and a swift exit through the door with a bag of unspecified tablets.
They could wait however long it takes tosee an ER doctor (likely several hours) or the ER staff would set them up with an appointment with a primary care physician within 24 hours.