Rural Spotlight

June 2, 2025

Article: How Mercy is Advancing AI Across the Enterprise

As health systems nationwide navigate the complexities of integrating AI into clinical and operational workflows, St. Louis-based Mercy is scaling both traditional and generative AI across its enterprise.

Byron Yount, PhD, chief data and artificial intelligence officer at Mercy, spoke with Becker’s about:

• the health system’s top priorities,
• how it ensures responsible use of these technologies, and
• how it’s preparing its workforce for an AI-enabled future in healthcare.

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June 2, 2025

Article: Physician Appointment Wait Times Climb: 4 Survey Findings

Anew AMN Healthcare survey published May 27 found it now takes an average of 31 days to schedule a physician appointment in 15 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas – up 19% from 2022 and 48% from 2004.

AMN Healthcare conducted the survey of 1,391 physician offices in January and February. It highlights ongoing challenges related to scheduling physician appointments.

The survey, which focused on six medical specialties, gathered data from offices across:

• The Atlanta,
• Boston,
• Dallas,
• Denver,
• Detroit,
• Houston,
• Los Angeles,
• Miami,
• Minneapolis,
• New York City,
• Philadelphia,
• Portland, Ore.,
• San Diego,
• Seattle, and
• Washington, D.C., areas.

Four Key Findings:

• It now takes an average of 31 days to schedule a physician appointment in the metropolitan areas’ surveys.
  • In 2022, the last year the survey was conducted, it took 26 days.
  • In 2004, the first year the survey was conducted, it took 21 days.
• Average wait times for physician appointments differ by specialty:
  • OB-GYN: 42 days – a 33% increase from 2022 and a 79% increase since 2004.
  • Gastroenterology: 40 days – this marks the first year gastroenterology is part of the survey.
  • Dermatology: 36.5 days – up 6% since 2022 and a 74% increase from 2004.
  • Cardiology: 33 days – a 23% increase from 2022 and a 74% increase from 2004.
  • Family medicine: 23.5 days – up 14% from 2022 and a 16% from 2009, the first year this specialty was added to the survey.
  • Orthopedic surgery: 12 days – down from both 2022 and 2004.
• Among metropolitan areas surveyed, Boston had the longest average physician appointment wait time at 65 days, and Atlanta had the shortest at 12 days.
• More than half of physician offices surveyed accept Medicaid (53%), compared with 82% that accept Medicare.

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