Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2008
DOI
10.1007/s11606-008-0805-8
Publication Title
Journal of General Internal Medicine
Volume
23
Issue
12
Pages
2058-2065
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Primary care physicians report that there is insufficient time to meet patients' needs during clinical visits, but visit time has increased over the past decade.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the number of clinical items addressed during the primary care visit has increased, and if so, whether this has been associated with changes in visit length and the pace of clinical work.
DESIGN: Analysis of non-hospital-based adult primary care visits from 1997 to 2005, as reported in the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.
PARTICIPANTS: A total of 46,431 adult primary care visits.
MEASUREMENTS: We assessed changes over time for the total number of clinical items addressed per visit (including diagnoses, medications, tests ordered, and counseling), visit duration, and average available time per clinical item. In adjusted analyses we controlled for patient and physician characteristics.
RESULTS: The number of clinical items addressed per visit increased from 5.4 to 7.1 from 1997 to 2005 (p < 0.001). Visit duration concurrently increased from 18.0 to 20.9 min (p < 0.001). The increase in the number of clinical items outpaced the increase in duration, resulting in a decrease in time per clinical item from 4.4 to 3.8 (p = 0.04). These changes occurred across patient age and payer status and were confirmed in adjusted analyses.
CONCLUSIONS: The volume of work associated with primary care visits has increased to a greater extent than has visit duration, resulting in less available time to address individual items. These findings have important implications for reimbursing physician time and improving the quality of care.
Original Publication Citation
Abbo, E. D., Zhang, Q., Zelder, M., & Huang, E. S. (2008). The increasing number of clinical items addressed during the time of adult primary care visits. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 23(12), 2058-2065. doi:10.1007/s11606-008-0805-8
Repository Citation
Abbo, Elmer D.; Zhang, Qi; Zelder, Martin; and Huang, Elbert S., "The Increasing Number of Clinical Items Addressed During the Time of Adult Primary Care Visits" (2008). Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications. 54.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/commhealth_fac_pubs/54
Comments
Web of Science: "Free full-text from repository -- green open access."