This wildly varies based on 1) needs, 2) supply/demand in your locale, 3) existing patient relationship. I live in the Bay Area and in the past month - between

This wildly varies based on 1) needs, 2) supply/demand in your locale, 3) existing patient relationship. I live in the Bay Area and in the past month - between myself, wife and three kids -- we've seen an oral surgeon, general practice dentist, orthodontist, pediatric cardiologist, pediatric orthopedist, OB/Gyn (for outpatient surgical procedure), pediatric dermatologist and a sports medicine orthopedist. The only one that had a lead time of more than a week was the dermatologist, and that was because it was a low priority assessment appointment, not something that required immediate attention. Overall, lead times are pretty short for patients that need to be seem for emergent reasons, and I've almost never had issues with prescheduled appointments being moved after the fact. We have pretty standard employer-sponsored HDHP PPO insurance, and my experience has held true across three states over the past 20 years. Unless something fundamentally changes about healthcare in the US, though, I believe high schools or colleges should teach "patient advocacy" for many of the same reasons as they should teach "financial literacy" as required short courses. I'm convinced, benefiting from having close family members employed as health care providers and witnessing the experiences of many friends & families who don't have this benefit of knowledge & experience, that many people receive supbar care primarily because they don't know how to seek & request what they need, to converse with providers using expected jargon, and to advocate for themselves to their insurers (and providers).