[The time requirement for endoscopic diagnosis and therapy: results of a multicenter study]

For evaluation of the time requirements for endoscopic diagnostic and therapeutic procedures data of 13,321 patients gathered from 155 endoscopic units were collected. Time requirements were calculated for preparation of the procedure, examination and after-care of patients and instruments. The data indicate, that time requirement is significantly influenced by the special procedure. Therefore, calculation of the time requirement of an individual unit needs exact consideration of the frequency of different procedures. Only cleaning of instruments by washing machines could be shown to reduce time requirement. Education of endoscopists was demonstrated to be time intensive. Age (exemption children) sex of patients and video-endoscopy did not effect duration of procedures.