The duration of office visits in the United States, 1993 to 2010

Abstract

Objectives: Since many physicians feel that they are not allotted enough time to adequately evaluate and effectively provide care for patients, we sought to analyze the average duration of office visits with physicians from 1993 through 2010.

Study design: Retrospective analysis of data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey of the National Center for Health Statistics.

Methods: Data were analyzed to examine the duration of office visits with physicians from 1993 through 2010. The trends for patients visiting primary care physicians and specialists, for a range of patient ages, for visits with and without physician's assistants or nurse practitioners, and for different numbers of diagnoses were all analyzed.

Results: From 1993 through 2010, reported visit duration increased over time from 17.9 minutes to 20.3 minutes for primary care visits (P < .001) and from 19.0 minutes to 21.0 minutes for specialized visits (P < .001). The increase in visit duration was consistent across different age ranges, for different numbers of diagnoses, and for patients who did and did not have a procedure performed during the visit.

Conclusions: Contrary to expectations and beliefs, from 1993 to 2010 a trend of a reduction in the average duration of office visits with physicians has not been observed. Visit duration has increased for both primary care physicians and specialists, across all age ranges, and for different numbers of diagnoses.