Communication with patients and the duration of family medicine consultations

To determine the distribution of consultation times, the factors that determine their length, and their relationship with a more participative, patient-centred consulting style.

Cross-sectional multicentre study.

Primary Healthcare Centres in Andalusia, Spain.

A total of 119 tutors and family medicine physician residents.

Consultation length and communication with the patient were analysed using the CICCAA scale (Connect, Identify, Understand, Consent, Help) during 436 interviews in Primary Care.

The mean duration of consultations was 8.8min (sd: 3.6). The consultation tended to be longer when the physician had a patient-centred approach (10.37±4.19min vs 7.54±2.98min; p=0.001), and when there was joint decision-making (9.79±3.96min vs 7.73±3.42min: p=0.001). In the multivariable model, longer consultations were associated with obtaining higher scores on the CICAA scale, a wider range of reasons for consultation, whether they came accompanied, in urban centres, and a smaller number of daily visits (r²=0.32). There was no correlation between physician or patient gender, or problem type.

A more patient centred medical profile, increased shared decision-making, a wider range of reasons for consultation, whether they came accompanied, in urban centres, and less professional pressure all seem to be associated with a longer consultation.