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Doctors who give longer consultations prescribe less, offer
more lifestyle advice, handle psychosocial problems better, and empower
patients. A systematic review of 14 research papers by Freeman and
colleagues (p 880) also found that the most effective consultations
were those in which doctors directly acknowledged and responded to
patients' problems and concerns. The authors say that 15 minutes is
barely adequate to see and examine an elderly patient with several
active problems. Longer consultations should be a professional
priority, and ways to introduce them should be found.