SAN FRANCISCO (ASRN.ORG) -- A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey shows that complaints first heard over 10 years ago by patients visiting their doctors hasn't changed much.
A decade ago, one of the major criticisms consumers had about their doctors was how little time was allotted to office visits. A new survey shows only minor improvements in the last 10 years. Fewer consumers are experiencing visits of 10 minutes or less, but overall, the length of the average office visit hasn't changed much since 1995.
Average time spent with physician:
2005: 19.3 minutes
1995: 18.7 minutes
The percentage of people, in 2005, whose doctor's visits lasted:
1 to 5 minutes: 2.7
6 to 10 minutes: 17.4
11 to 15 minutes: 36.1
16 to 30 minutes: 36.8
31 to 60 minutes: 6.5
More than 61 minutes: 0.4