How long do patients wait once referred to a neurologist?

Author(s):

Austin Littrell

Key Takeaways

Older adults wait an average of 34 days for neurologist appointments, with 18% experiencing delays over 90 days.
Conditions like multiple sclerosis and epilepsy result in longer wait times compared to other neurological issues.
Geographic factors and network affiliations influence wait times, but race, ethnicity, and sex do not.
The number of neurologists in a region does not significantly impact wait times, underscoring the need for new strategies.
The AAN is promoting telemedicine and policy changes to improve access and reduce neurologist appointment delays.

A recent study found that many patients are left waiting to see a neurologist for more than a month after they are referred.

When referring patients to neurologists, physicians should prepare them for potentially significant wait times, according to a new study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). On average, older adults wait 34 days for an appointment with a neurologist following a referral, with 18% of people facing delays exceeding 90 days.

“Neurologists provide important and ongoing care for people with complex conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and headache,” said Brian C. Callaghan, MD, MS, FAAN, an author of the study and chair of the AAN’s health services research subcommittee. “With the current number of U.S. neurologists, our study found it can take an average of a month or even more to see a neurologist to receive this specialized care.”

The study looked at two years of Medicare data for 163,313 individuals aged 65 and older, referred by 84,975 physicians to 10,250 neurologists, nationwide. Researchers calculated the time between the initial referral and the neurologist appointment, uncovering disparities in wait times influenced by the condition they have and geographic factors.

On average, patients had to wait 34 days to see a neurologist following a referral from their primary care physician. When compared to patients referred to neurologists for back pain, who had to wait an average of 30 days, people with the following conditions experienced significantly longer wait times:

Multiple sclerosis (MS): 29 days longer than average.
Epilepsy: 10 days longer than average.
Parkinson’s disease: 9 days longer than average.

According to the study, patients referred to neurologists outside of their physician’s usual network faced additional delays of 11 days on average, and researchers noted that wait times varied from state-to-state, likely a reflection of different health care policies.

For patients with these conditions, timely referrals to neurologists can be life-changing. Researchers found no significant differences in wait times based on race, ethnicity or sex, while also noting that the number of neurologists in a region—ranging from 10 to 50 per 100,000 people—did not significantly influence wait times.

“In general, early referral to specialists has been shown to improve outcomes and increase patient satisfaction,” said Chun Chieh Lin, PhD, MBA, of The Ohio State University, an author of the study and a member of the AAN. “Our findings underscore the need to develop new strategies to help people with neurological conditions see neurologists faster.”

The AAN is addressing these challenging wait times by providing additional resources to streamline care delivery in neurology practices. Telemedicine, championed by Carlayne E. Jackson, MD, FAAN, president of the AAN, is one potential solution. “Increasing the number of neurologists has long been a focus of the AAN, and our work with policy makers and lawmakers has helped improve access to telemedicine for people with neurological conditions,” Jackson said.