Length of consultations

doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7374.1241

BMJ 2002;325:1241 ( 23 November )

Letters

Length of consultations

Contract needs to enable doctors to offer first class care

Consultations should be longer

Longer consultations can improve patient satisfaction

Time and stress are limiting holistic care in Scotland

Contract needs to enable doctors to offer first class care

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ Jenkins et al found that patients vary both in what they want from a consultation with their general practitioner andin what they get.¹ They found a poor correlation between theseand the length of the consultation. The catchy front cover headline"Consultations don't have to be longer to be better" seriouslyovergeneralises these results. Some short consultations may behighly effective, but a systematic review earlier this year summariseda range of patient outcomes that are improved when doctors havemore time.²

In one large English survey 12% of patients complained about having insufficient time with their general practitioner, butthis figure rose to 30% when patients were seen for five minutesor less.³ It may be that the doctors need additional time inconsultations $---$ perhaps more than their patients. Medical practicehas become more complex, and more needs to be done during thecourse of consultations. . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

StumbleUpon Add to Technorati

Technorati What's this?

Relevant Articles

Consultations do not have to be longer: Linda Jenkins, Nicky Britten, Nick Barber, Colin P Bradley, and Fiona A Stevenson
BMJ 2002 325: 388. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Evolving general practice consultation in Britain: issues of length and context: George K Freeman, John P Horder, John G R Howie, A Pali Hungin, Alison P Hill, Nayan C Shah, and Andrew Wilson
BMJ 2002 324: 880-882. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]