America's top 3 instant doctor's office 'turn-offs’

On demand, not on hold — new research revealed the top hurdles that send patients running to a new doctor.

According to a survey of 2,000 Americans who’ve been to the doctor within the last year, sitting in the waiting room for more than 30 minutes (52%), inability to speak with a human being (48%) and difficulty scheduling an appointment (41%) are the top three instant doctor’s office “turn-offs.”

First impressions matter too, as it takes just 20 minutes into an appointment for the average patient to decide whether or not they’ll come back to that doctor.

On average, survey respondents reported they typically wait on hold for eight and a half minutes when calling a doctor’s office to schedule an appointment. But those same respondents are only willing to wait on hold for about 10 minutes before hanging up when they are trying to schedule an appointment with a new doctor’s office.

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of patient communications provider Klara (https://klara-website.webflow.io), a ModMed company, results found that in a perfect world, it would take Americans an average of just seven and a half minutes to schedule that first appointment with a new doctor, including hold time.

While difficulty scheduling the first appointment (31%) and long phone hold times (19%) were among the worst parts of switching to a new doctor, a few aspects were even more anxiety-inducing.

According to the results, establishing trust and rapport with the new doctor (54%) and questioning the quality of care they’ll receive (41%) ranked as the worst elements of switching to a new doctor.

This need for comfortable and personalized care mirrors the top reasons Americans surveyed would “break up with” their current doctor: low quality of care (58%), not feeling heard or understood (49%) and feeling rushed through their appointment (41%).

The average American polled believes a doctor should spend at least 20 minutes with a new patient during their first visit.

“Both doctors and patients are busier than ever — with jam-packed schedules and seemingly endless tasks, it’s no surprise that there’s so much pressure on both sides to make the most of what little time they have,” said Irish McIntyre, Chief Product Officer at ModMed. “That’s precisely where technology must act as a bridge, not a barrier. By automating the administrative noise that consumes so much of the day, it’s designed to give back the one resource that matters most: dedicated, uninterrupted time for human connection and care.”

With so much emphasis on human interaction, the survey also explored the role of AI when it comes to doctor’s offices.

While one-third of respondents are uncomfortable with AI being involved in their healthcare at all, others believe it could be helpful when it comes to appointment reminders (37%), prescription refills (29%) and scheduling appointments (23%).

Americans are divided over how much they trust AI — 13% believe technology enhances care and efficiency and trust it completely, while 18% err more on the side of caution and would only task AI with administrative tasks.

Still, nearly a third of respondents don’t trust it all, believing it’s unreliable or impersonal.

This may be why the survey found personal touches still matter in healthcare.

Respondents noted that remembering medical history (50%), ensuring a calm, welcoming environment (48%) and knowing their name and remembering details about their personal life (41%) are still quite important to them.

“Results found that the top change Americans wish all doctors’ offices would make is more personalized care and attention during visits. The data tells us that patients want to feel seen and remembered, not processed like a number,” said McIntyre. “The solution isn’t to avoid technology, but to strike the right balance with focus on quality solutions that create time and space for providers to deliver a deeply human experience. When smart, reliable practice technology handles the administrative gaps or empowers patients to take an active role in their care, both providers and patients have a better healthcare experience.”