New Sollis Health Report Reveals the Real Cost of Waiting for Healthcare in America

Delayed appointments, rushed visits, and hours lost to waiting rooms have become the norm in American healthcare – and the findings show what happens when that changes.

NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sollis Health, the pioneer and leader in concierge immediate care, today released a new report, The Real Cost of Healthcare for Americans, pairing national healthcare research with a decade of its own patient data to examine the growing cost of waiting for care, and what happens when those barriers disappear.

The contrast is clearest in how patients spend their time. Nationally, a typical medical visit takes 121 minutes door to door, with just 20 minutes spent with a clinician, while an ER visit can take roughly three hours, and even longer in major cities. At Sollis, members wait an average of three minutes to be seen and spend 90% of a typical visit face-to-face with a clinician.

The gap extends to specialist care as well. Sollis facilitates appointments five times faster than national averages, including dermatology in six days versus 36 nationally and OB/GYN in seven days versus 42.

Across the country, those delays add up. Travel and wait times alone cost Americans an estimated $89 billion in lost economic value each year, while the average wait for a new-patient physician appointment has climbed to 31 days, up 19% since 2022. Americans also spend the equivalent of an eight-hour workday each month coordinating healthcare for themselves and their families.

That friction can become a barrier to care itself: More than half of Americans have delayed care when they needed it, while 61% have skipped a visit because scheduling was too much of a hassle. By comparison, 64% of new Sollis member accounts have an encounter within their first 30 days, and 88% of visits are scheduled the same day.

"For too long, we've accepted waiting, complexity, and fragmented care as inevitable parts of the healthcare experience," said Brad Olson, CEO of Sollis Health. "Getting the care you need shouldn't mean sacrificing hours, days, or weeks of your life. For the past 10 years, we've built something different: a standard of care that flexes around patients' lives, not the other way around."

A Decade of Data Shows How Patients Use Care Differently

Sollis' utilization data also reflects demand for care outside the traditional healthcare schedule. 40% of Sollis encounters occur outside traditional medical office hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays. 66% of Sollis pediatric visits happen outside school hours, and nearly half of members used virtual care in the past year.

"The real value of access is what it enables us to do clinically," said Dr. Scott Braunstein, Chief Medical Officer at Sollis Health. "When patients can connect with a physician sooner and remain supported through testing, treatment, and follow-up, we can address concerns before they become more complex. That continuity improves both the patient experience and medical outcomes."

Over the past decade, Sollis has grown to serve 20,000 members across 14 centers, supported by more than 100 emergency medicine physicians. Fewer than 1% of Sollis encounters are escalated to an emergency room. The company has a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 80, more than twice the national healthcare average of 38.

Together, the findings point to an evolving definition of healthcare access — one measured not only by whether care is available, but by how quickly, easily, and comprehensively patients can receive it.

To explore the full report, visit https://www.sollishealth.com/pdfs/sollistrendreport.

About Sollis Health:

Sollis Health is redefining the immediate care experience for everyday health concerns, ER-level emergencies, and everything in between. With 14 centers across four markets in New York, Southern California, Northern California and Florida, Sollis serves members in state-of-the-art spaces designed for their comfort and its ER-trained doctors' performance. Members have unlimited access to 24/7 urgent and emergency care, in person and virtually, and expedited access to top specialists.

SOURCE Sollis Health