Some are waiting between three weeks and six months, while others are being forced to attend accident and emergency units for basic consultations.
The association says a survey of 1,000 people underlines the need for major parties to announce much more in the final week of the election campaign to boost health care in remote and regional parts of Australia.
The survey also found that 66 percent of rural Australians had to travel away from their local area to receive non-emergency medical treatment.
A third of rural Australians are facing 30 minutes of travel to reach their closest hospital that provides 24/7 treatment.
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The Rural Doctors Association (RDAA) is concerned at waiting times, availability of health care professionals, financial costs of travel and accommodation.
RDAA President Dr Nola Maxfield said the results of the survey indicates that $1 billion per year is being underspent on Medicare service delivery and is 17,000 short of additional health professionals too provide basic care.
"These are extremely worrying findings should not be occurring in a first world country like Australia. We should be building a first world health system in rural Australia too," Dr Maxfield said.
