Willingness of Older Adults to Travel for Medical Care

What duration are older adults in the US willing to travel for routine medical appointments before delaying or forgoing care?In this survey study that included 2650 older adults (aged ≥65 years) from a nationally representative internet panel, the median willingness to travel times were 68 minutes, 128 minutes, and 113 minutes for primary care, specialty care, and one-time diagnostic appointments, respectively.These findings suggest that older adults in the US are willing to travel for substantial durations before delaying or forgoing routine medical care.

Corresponding Author: Soeren Mattke, MD, DSc, The USC Brain Health Observatory, University of Southern California, 635 Downey Way, 505N, Los Angeles, CA 90089 (mattke@usc.edu).

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