Perhaps contrary to popular belief, physician visits have gotten longer, not shorter, in the past 13 years. Visits were on average about two and a half minutes longer in 2002 than in 1989 (18.4 minutes vs. 15.9 minutes). The upward trend has not been continuous: there have been periods of decline beginning in 1995 and 1999. The mean time spent with physicians varies by specialty: the 2002 average for all physicians was 18.4 minutes, but by physician specialty was, for example, 15.2 minutes for dermatology, 16.1 minutes for general and family practice, 27.9 minutes for neurology, and 35.2 minutes for psychiatry.

Notes: Includes ambulatory care visits made to nonfederally employed physicians’ offices in the United States (excluding physicians in the specialties of anesthesiology, radiology, and pathology). Visits to private, nonhospital-based clinics and HMOs are included if they are not federally operated facilities or hospital-based outpatient departments. Only visits where face-to-face contact with the physician occurred are included. Time spent with the physician excludes time spent waiting to see the physician, receiving care from someone other than the physician without the presence of the physician, or time spent by the physician in reviewing patient records and/or test results.

Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Health Care Statistics (data from the 2002 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey): personal communication (trend data); Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics, Number 346, August 26, 2004, National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2002 Summary, Table 27, p.34, at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad346.pdf (2002 mean minutes by physician specialty).