• Christine Sinsky, Lacey Colligan, Ling Li, Mirela Prgomet, Sam Reynolds, Lindsey Goeders, Johanna Westbrook, Michael Tutty, and George Blike.
• From the American Medical Association, Chicago, Illinois; Sharp End Advisory, Hanover, New Hampshire; Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire.
• Ann. Intern. Med. 2016 Dec 6; 165 (11): 753-760.

BackgroundLittle is known about how physician time is allocated in ambulatory care.ObjectiveTo describe how physician time is spent in ambulatory practice.DesignQuantitative direct observational time and motion study (during office hours) and self-reported diary (after hours).SettingU.S. ambulatory care in 4 specialties in 4 states (Illinois, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Washington).Participants57 U.S. physicians in family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, and orthopedics who were observed for 430 hours, 21 of whom also completed after-hours diaries.MeasurementsProportions of time spent on 4 activities (direct clinical face time, electronic health record [EHR] and desk work, administrative tasks, and other tasks) and self-reported after-hours work.ResultsDuring the office day, physicians spent 27.0% of their total time on direct clinical face time with patients and 49.2% of their time on EHR and desk work. While in the examination room with patients, physicians spent 52.9% of the time on direct clinical face time and 37.0% on EHR and desk work. The 21 physicians who completed after-hours diaries reported 1 to 2 hours of after-hours work each night, devoted mostly to EHR tasks.LimitationsData were gathered in self-selected, high-performing practices and may not be generalizable to other settings. The descriptive study design did not support formal statistical comparisons by physician and practice characteristics.ConclusionFor every hour physicians provide direct clinical face time to patients, nearly 2 additional hours is spent on EHR and desk work within the clinic day. Outside office hours, physicians spend another 1 to 2 hours of personal time each night doing additional computer and other clerical work.Primary Funding SourceAmerican Medical Association.

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