The Shortage of Endocrinologists and Its Impact on Thyroid Patients

People regularly complain to me that the waiting list to see an endocrinologist in their area is three months, six months, sometimes even as long as nine months or more — if you can even get on the new patient waiting list at all. Even then, once you're at your appointment, most of your time is spent waiting, filling out forms, being seen by a nurse or physician's assistant, having blood drawn, and so on. You are lucky if you get more than five to ten minutes of face time with the actual doctor. What is going on? Why is it so hard to see an endocrinologist? And is the medical community doing anything to resolve the problem?

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