The Daily Health Chronicle

Table 1. Click-and-Book Resources At-a-Glance

(Each tool is linked in its own health-system section below.)

Regional Bright Spots Still Accepting Patients

Pacific Northwest

West Salem Family Practice Associates in Oregon explicitly invites new residents to “familiarize themselves with our services.” Further north in Washington, the Walla Walla Family Medical Center says it while offering bilingual staff and free translation services.

California

Amid San Diego’s physician crunch, nonprofit Scripps Health and lets patients secure either in-person or on-demand video visits the same day.

Mountain & Midwest

Nebraska Medicine’s multistate network assures residents they can find quality care close to home; its clinics across Omaha, Bellevue and Grand Island and allow scheduling through a dedicated mobile app.

Kettering Health in western Ohio, a participant in the federal Primary Care First initiative, keeps expanded panels by pairing physicians with RN care managers; its MyChart portal.

Great Lakes & Heartland

Mercy Health, headquartered outside St. Louis, has saved taxpayers over $100 million by focusing on efficient ambulatory care; the organization.

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is likewise growing capacity—its primary-care clinics are with same-day telehealth options.

Atlantic Seaboard

Community Care Physicians in upstate New York runs Wellness Way, a “health park” where walk-in evenings and weekend appointments are standard; patients engage a robust.

Southeast

From Orlando to Asheville, AdventHealth’s multistate system makes it easy to filter for “accepting new patients” status; users can.

Table 2. Clinics & Health-System Practices Publicly Welcoming First-Time Patients

How to Vet a Prospective Doctor

1. Confirm the practice is “in-network” for your insurance; Brown University Health advises considering before locking in a first visit.
2. Browse profile videos or written “philosophies of care” when available; these often reveal a practice’s patient-communication style.
3. Ask about patient-portal features—secure messaging predicts higher satisfaction scores.
4. For complex or chronic conditions, select clinics that provide care-management teams. Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic’s Lancaster Center, for instance, that can streamline follow-up care.

The Bottom Line

Despite widespread headlines about overwhelmed offices, dozens of U.S. health systems still have room for new faces. By coupling online directories with region-specific practices—and verifying each office’s insurance and telehealth options—patients can shorten the wait between “I need a doctor” and “Your appointment is booked.”