Consultation - interesting information

Time allocation in primary care visits: How clinic time was spent during elderly patients’ visits to primary care physicians in the United States.

Videotape analysis method: An innovative method to examine the visit length and time devoted to specific topics using a sample of 392 videotapes of routine office visits.

Survival analysis model: A statistical model to analyze the effects of patient, physician, and physician practice setting on how clinic time was spent.

Main findings: A minimal amount of time was dedicated to specific topics. The median visit length was 15.7 minutes, covering a median of six topics. Macro factors associated with each site influenced visit and topic length more than the nature of the problem patients presented.

Implications: Many topics compete for visit time, resulting in little time spent on each topic. A highly regimented schedule might interfere with having sufficient time for patients with complex or multiple problems5. Efforts to improve the quality of care need to recognize the time pressure on patients and physicians, the effects of financial incentives, and the time costs of improving patient–physician interactions6.

Tai-Seale, M., McGuire, T.G. and Zhang, W. (2007). Time Allocation in Primary Care Office Visits. Health Services Research, [online] 42(5), pp.1871–1894. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2006.00689.x.