What percentage of Americans don't go to the doctor?

Asked by: Allison Roberts  |  Last update: November 2, 2023
Score: 4.5/5 (4 votes)

Nearly a third of Americans lack access to primary care services, including routine checkups, while 40 percent of U.S. adults say they're delaying care or going without because of the financial costs. We hear from people around the country about the barriers they face and then John Yang speaks with Dr.

How many people avoid doctors?

35% of Black Americans say they put off seeing a doctor in the past 12 months, compared to 22% of White Americans and 29% of Hispanic Americans; 38% of those aged 18-24 and 34% of those aged 25-34 say they avoided seeing a doctor in the past 12 months.

Do some people never go to doctors?

It's estimated that 25% of people in the United States don't have a primary care physician and about 20% of people haven't been to a doctor in more than five years. But now you've decided it's time to fix that.

What percent of people never see a doctor?

The general increase in health care costs is a trend, too. It appears that though the makeup of who didn't go to the doctor pre-ACA and post-ACA (over the past year) is nearly the same, except the percentage of U.S. adult never-goers is even higher– now at 20%.

What percentage of Americans don t have a primary care doctor?

Share of patients without a primary care provider

Nearly 30% of all patients who received medical services between 2016 and 2022 did not see a primary care physician, a FAIR Health analysis provided first to Axios shows.

Why more Americans are putting off going to the doctor

20 related questions found

How often does the average American go to the doctor?

How Often Americans See a Doctor. The average American visits his or her doctor four times per year. On average, babies visit the doctor nine times per year and children between the ages of 5 and 15 visit the doctor two times per year.

How many Americans have no doctor?

With more than 100 million Americans without a primary care doctor, community health centers can help fill the gap. But they desperately need funding. Nearly a third of Americans lack access to primary care, according to a new report.

Why do people refuse to go to the doctor?

Sometimes, a person may be reluctant to seek medical care, even when routine, out of the fear that they will be told something is wrong. They may refuse to have tests or screenings because they are afraid of receiving a difficult diagnosis or something else they perceive as "bad news."

How many adults don't go to doctor?

Nearly a third of Americans lack access to primary care services, including routine checkups, while 40 percent of U.S. adults say they're delaying care or going without because of the financial costs.

What age group goes to the doctor the least?

Medical provider visits become more likely with age, as 37 percent of young adults 18 to 24 did not visit a provider at all during the year, compared with 8 percent of those 65 and older. Hispanics were the least likely racial or ethnic group to see a medical provider, as 42 percent never visited one during the year.

Do people regret becoming doctors?

Researchers discovered only 57.5 percent of physicians said they would choose to become a physician again, compared to 72.2 percent of physicians in 2020.

Do we really need a doctor?

Routine visits with your primary care provider not only help with your comfort level, but they also build on your health history. Knowledge of your health history, as well as your family health history, is imperative for prevention of diseases and also helps your doctor catch early symptoms of serious conditions.

Why do men avoid going to the doctor?

“It's well documented that, compared to women, men are much worse at preventive care,” said Petar Bajic, a urologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Some men shy away from seeing doctors because they fear receiving bad news, said Dr.

What percentage of people go to the doctor annually?

This statistic shows the frequency adults in the U.S. visited or consulted a primary care physician as of 2018. According to data provided by Ipsos, 30 percent of U.S. adults stated they visited or consulted a primary care physician just once a year.

How many people do not trust doctors?

However, trust in doctors has been declining rapidly over the decades. In the 1960s, over three-fourths of the American society had great confidence in medical professionals. Now, only 34% of the American population are confident in the country's public health system.

What percentage of people see a doctor every year?

Doctor Visit Statistics Overview. According to a survey, around 87% of U.S. adults have visited a healthcare professional at least once in the past 12 months (as of 2019).

What percent of people have no medical problems?

Overall, just 4.3 percent of people had no health problems, the researchers found.

What percentage of Americans have a primary care?

The study found that in 2002, 77% of adult Americans had an identified primary care physician, a level that dropped to 75% in 2015. In addition, the study found a particularly marked decline in primary care among younger Americans and those without complex medical issues.

Who is most likely to go to the doctor?

Women go to the doctor more often than men, particularly in their reproductive years, between the ages of 15 and 44. This difference is partly due to management of gynaecological and reproductive issues.

What do you call someone who refuses to go to the doctor?

People with iatrophobia (eye-AT-rah-FO-bee-ah) have an extreme fear of doctors or medical tests. The word originates from “iatros,” the Greek word for healer, and “phobos,” which means fear. Someone with iatrophobia may refuse to seek medical attention even when they're very sick or showing signs of a serious illness.

Is it normal to not like going to the doctor?

Anxious “what ifs” about your health start flooding your mind, and you begin typing symptoms into Google for an inevitably tragic self-diagnosis. If you've experienced something similar, you're not alone. In fact, it's a pretty common experience to feel reticent about going to the doctor, said Dr.

Why don t older adults go to the doctor?

The 2020 study said seniors' reluctance to see a doctor was largely tied to previous negative experiences, hassles maneuvering the health-care system, not believing they needed care, transportation issues, cost and provider communication.

What nationality are most doctors?

Among active physicians, 56.2% identified as White, 17.1% identified as Asian, 5.8% identified as Hispanic, and 5.0% identified as Black or African American. Note that the race for 13.7% of active physicians is Unknown, making that the largest subgroup after White and Asian.

How many people put off medical care because of cost?

The share of Americans who say they or a family member delayed medical treatment due to cost rose to 38% in 2022 from 26% in 2021, according to a Gallup poll. That percentage is the highest since the polling organization began taking the measurement in 2001.

How many doctors does the average American see?

The average number of doctors seen for all survey participants was 18.7. For 18-24 year olds, the average was 8.3. For patients over 65, the average was 28.4. Women reported having seen more doctors on average (20.6) than men (16.7).