How long is too long to wait to be seen by a doctor?

How long is too long to wait to be seen by a doctor? How long is too long to wait to be seen by doctor depends on urgency of symptoms and setting. In emergency department, wait times over 4 to 6 hours may be too long for urgent conditions, and if you have chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, stroke signs, or severe pain, you should be seen immediately, and waiting over minutes may be too long, seek immediate help and alert staff. For urgent primary care issues like fever, infection, worsening pain, waiting more than 24 to 48 hours may be too long and you should seek urgent care. For routine non-urgent issues, waiting few weeks may be acceptable but over 2 to 3 months may be too long and delay diagnosis. For specialist referrals, waits over 3 to 6 months may be excessive and you should seek alternative. If symptoms worsen while waiting, too long. So too long depends on severity, but generally if symptoms are severe, any delay over hours is too long, for urgent but not emergency, over 1 to 2 days too long, for routine, over few months too long, and you should advocate, call, or seek alternative care.