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. 2007 Jan 12;1:2. doi: 10.1186/1750-4732-1-2

Table 2.

National estimates of time spent with physician during general and family medicine patient visits.*

Time† (min)

Patient or Visit Characteristic Mean SE P
Age, yr
 ≤24 17.21 0.78 < .001
 25–44 20.15 0.91 .68
 45–64 20.27 0.91 .83
 ≥65 20.36 0.82
Sex
 Female 19.50 0.84
 Male 19.50 0.82 .91
Race
 White 19.55 0.62
 Black 19.23 0.90 .66
 Other 19.71 1.47 .90
Ethnicity
 Non-Hispanic 19.42 0.75
 Hispanic 19.57 0.98 .80
Geographic region
 Northeast 20.90 1.21 .21
 Midwest 18.23 0.78 .09
 South 19.26 0.97 .66
 West 19.61 0.90
Residence in MSA
 Yes 19.16 0.81
 No 19.84 0.99 .38
Episode of care
 Initial visit 19.36 0.93
 Follow-up visit 19.35 0.94 .99
 Unknown 19.78 0.92 .65
Major reason for visit
 Acute problem 17.16 0.80
 Chronic problem 18.43 0.75 .01
 Preventive care 22.52 1.22 < .001
 Other/unknown 19.88 1.39 .02
Provider type
 Allopathic physician 19.65 0.77
 Osteopathic physician 19.34 1.04 .71

*Derived from the 2003 and 2004 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey using population estimates based on patient visit weights. MSA denotes metropolitan statistical area.

†Time spent with physician is adjusted for the patient or visit characteristics in the table.

‡Reference category for contrasts.