The (Family) Doctor Isn’t In: Millennials Are Rejecting Primary Care Physicians

For six years during her 20s, Tara Carter didn’t have a primary care doctor.

To her, it wasn’t an efficient use of her time.

First, she had to take time off work and sit in a doctor’s office, where she’d shell out her copay and answer a ton of questions.

And often she’d be referred to a specialist, where she’d repeat the process over again.

For minor health problems, such as sinus infections, she used retail walk-in or urgent care clinics instead.

Carter, who lives in the Washington, D.C. area, told Healthline that these are “sufficient to get the help I need and get out the door and back in bed — without waiting days for an appointment that didn’t fit my schedule.”

Plus, at $50 to $75 per visit and offering middle-of-the night appointments and often prescriptions on the spot, Carter finds this kind of on-demand healthcare “convenient and solution-driven.”

Carter’s approach to healthcare isn’t unique.

Many other millennials — Americans born between 1981 and 1996 — are passing up visits to primary care offices in search of shorter wait times, virtual healthcare, and clearer pricing models.