[How much time does the physician dedicate to his patients? A study of contents of office visits and their length].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the content and length of General Medicine interviews at a health centre, analysing the problems dealt with and activities undertaken, in function of the time taken.


METHODS
A crossover study.


METHODS
An urban health centre at Alcobendas (Madrid).


METHODS
The problems, activities and length of all the interviews (926) were recorded over a period of 10 days.


RESULTS
The average length of the interviews was 6.7 minutes (standard error SE = 0.13). More problems were dealt with, and more activities carried out, in the longer interviews. Problems of a psycho-social character and preventive activities were discussed in the long interviews. Significant differences were found in the length of interviews in function of the patient's age and between different professionals.


CONCLUSIONS
To achieve integrated care which includes both preventive medicine and psycho-social problems, doctors must have more interview time, as these questions are not tackled in short interviews.
Ogando Díaz
B
B
Centro de Salud La Chopera, Alcobendas, Madrid.
Giménez Vázquez
A
A
De Andrés Núñez
M E
ME
García Olmos
L M
LM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D009819:Office Visits; D011315:Preventive Medicine; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012940:Social Problems; D013997:Time Factors
Cuánto tiempo le dedica a sus pacientes? Estudio del contenido de las consultas médicas según su duración.