The new study, by Harvard Medical School and published in the American Journal of Managed Care, calculates how many minutes patients spend seeking medical care — and the dollar value of their time lost from work. Among the findings:
A typical visit to a doctor consumes an average of 121 minutes of the patient’s time — 37 minutes in travel, 64 minutes waiting for care or filling out forms.
The average time spent with a physician: 20 minutes at most.
It costs the average patient $43 in lost time for each doctor visit — more than the typical out-of-pocket cost for the care itself (about $32), based on the average sum a person could earn if working during that time.
Americans spent 1.1 billion hours every year obtaining such care for themselves or others — time the researchers valued at $52 billion.
3 comments:
I didn't need a paid study to tell me what I already knew and observed from first hand experience. I might go into my doctor's office well, and within two weeks, I get sick with some type of head/body cold.
The sitting arrangements are very poor. Sick people are sitting almost on top of each other thus passing germs to healthy people sitting beside them. I understand the sick person can't help coughing or sneezing, that's why they are at the doctor's; however it doesn't help the poor soul sitting next to them. I don't think the chair arms ever get cleaned or wiped down to curb spreading germs. I hate going to the doctor for this very reason followed by the long wait times then you are rushed through when seeing the doctor you don't even have time to ask all your questions and get answers. All I can say is, "thanks, obama".
Who ever gets 20 minutes with their doc?
anon 5:30, how on earth can this be blamed on Obama? LOL
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