Survey on consultation length and waiting time of community general practice clinics / 中华全科医师杂志

Objective To survey the consultation length and waiting time of general practice clinics in community health service centers(CHSC).Methods Three CHSCs were selected from urban areas,urban-rural junction and rural areas Beijing Chaoyang District.The length of consultation,waiting time and the satisfaction of patients were surveyed by self-designed questionnaires among 373 patients visiting these three CHSCs between July to August 2018.Results In 364 patients who completed the questionnaire 69.0％(251/364) had a consultation length between 5 to 10 min,and the proportion of consultation length＜ 5 min was the highest (27.9％) in urban-rural junction.The waiting time was＜5 min in 43.7％ patients (159/364),only 9.3％ of patients waited for＞30 min.The proportion of patients with waiting＜5 min was the lowest (20.7％) in urban area.The distribution of consultion length was different among groups of the reason of consultion,frequently seen doctor and the familarity with the doctor(P＜0.05).Most patients were satisfied with the length of consultation (85.4％) and waiting time (74.5％).The satisfaction of patients in urban areas with the consultation length (75.2％) and waiting time (49.6％) was lower than that in urban-rural junction and rural areas.Conclusion The consultation length in general practice clinics of CHSC is relatively short,but patients are basically satisfied with the current status of consultation length and waiting time.However,consultation length and wating time should be regularly monitared,to promote the quality of care in general practice clinics.

A systematic review of studies on consultation length in Japan / 日本プライマリ・ケア連合学会誌

<b>Introduction</b> : The purpose of this study was to review studies on consultation length in Japan.<br><b>Methods</b> : We used Ichushi-Web, CiNii, JMEDPlus, Google Scholar, and MEDLINE, and selected and reviewed papers in which researchers have measured consultation length.<br><b>Results</b> : We identified 26 studies, 6 of which focused on consultation length in terms of associated factors such as the differences between specialty departments. Seven studies performed in outpatient clinics focused on waiting time as the main topic of investigation and secondarily measured consultation length. In addition, consultation length was used as an indicator for introducing interventions. Three studies discussed appropriate consultation length. Two studies investigated patient satisfaction. The definition of consultation length varied among studies.<br><b>Conclusion</b> : Few studies investigated patient outcomes. Further studies are required to monitor consultation length and patient outcomes as well as to clarify the definition of consultation length.