What do New Zealand general practitioners do in their offices?

A third person physician observer timed 16 New Zealand general practitioners during a work day during summer months. Usual office hours for the 16 physicians occupied over seven hours, during which time the patient list averaged 26 persons. Greatest time span, 27 percent, used in diagnosis, but substantial time was spent in health education, counseling and administration. The distribution of patients' problems was greatest in respiratory disease, followed by musculoskeletal, dermatologic and urogenital. There is considerable similarity to practice patterns of rural physicians in Missouri, USA.