BACKGROUND: Little is known about how physician time is allocated in ambulatory care. OBJECTIVE: To describe how physician time is spent in ambulatory practice. DESIGN: Quantitative direct observational time and motion study (during office hours) and self-reported diary (after hours). SETTING: U.S. ambulatory care in 4 specialties in 4 states (Illinois, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Washington). PARTICIPANTS: 57 U.S. physicians in family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, and orthopedics who were observed for 430 hours, 21 of whom also completed after-hours diaries. MEASUREMENTS: Proportions of time spent on 4 activities (direct clinical face time, electronic health record [EHR] and desk work, administrative tasks, and other tasks) and self-reported after-hours work. RESULTS: During the office day, physicians spent 27.0% of their total time on direct clinical face time with patients and 49.2% of their time on EHR and desk work. While in the examination room with patients, physicians spent 52.9% of the time on direct clinical face time and 37.0% on EHR and desk work. The 21 physicians who completed after-hours diaries reported 1 to 2 hours of after-hours work each night, devoted mostly to EHR tasks. LIMITATIONS: Data were gathered in self-selected, high-performing practices and may not be generalizable to other settings. The descriptive study design did not support formal statistical comparisons by physician and practice characteristics. CONCLUSION: For every hour physicians provide direct clinical face time to patients, nearly 2 additional hours is spent on EHR and desk work within the clinic day. Outside office hours, physicians spend another 1 to 2 hours of personal time each night doing additional computer and other clerical work. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: American Medical Association.
BACKGROUND: Little is known about how physician time is allocated in ambulatory care. OBJECTIVE: To describe how physician time is spent in ambulatory practice. DESIGN: Quantitative direct observational time and motion study (during office hours) and self-reported diary (after hours). SETTING: U.S. ambulatory care in 4 specialties in 4 states (Illinois, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Washington). PARTICIPANTS: 57 U.S. physicians in family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, and orthopedics who were observed for 430 hours, 21 of whom also completed after-hours diaries. MEASUREMENTS: Proportions of time spent on 4 activities (direct clinical face time, electronic health record [EHR] and desk work, administrative tasks, and other tasks) and self-reported after-hours work. RESULTS: During the office day, physicians spent 27.0% of their total time on direct clinical face time with patients and 49.2% of their time on EHR and desk work. While in the examination room with patients, physicians spent 52.9% of the time on direct clinical face time and 37.0% on EHR and desk work. The 21 physicians who completed after-hours diaries reported 1 to 2 hours of after-hours work each night, devoted mostly to EHR tasks. LIMITATIONS: Data were gathered in self-selected, high-performing practices and may not be generalizable to other settings. The descriptive study design did not support formal statistical comparisons by physician and practice characteristics. CONCLUSION: For every hour physicians provide direct clinical face time to patients, nearly 2 additional hours is spent on EHR and desk work within the clinic day. Outside office hours, physicians spend another 1 to 2 hours of personal time each night doing additional computer and other clerical work. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: American Medical Association.
Authors: Paul R Duberstein; Paul K Maciejewski; Ronald M Epstein; Joshua J Fenton; Benjamin Chapman; Sally A Norton; Michael Hoerger; Marsha N Wittink; Daniel J Tancredi; Guibo Xing; Supriya Mohile; Richard L Kravitz; Holly G Prigerson Journal: J Palliat Med Date: 2019-06-25 Impact factor: 2.947
Authors: Sally L Baxter; Helena E Gali; Michael F Chiang; Michelle R Hribar; Lucila Ohno-Machado; Robert El-Kareh; Abigail E Huang; Heather E Chen; Andrew S Camp; Don O Kikkawa; Bobby S Korn; Jeffrey E Lee; Christopher A Longhurst; Marlene Millen Journal: Appl Clin Inform Date: 2020-02-19 Impact factor: 2.342