[Allocation of time in Thuringian general practices: Pilot time-motion study comparing the time GPs spend on...

General practitioners (GPs) have reported increasing burdens from documentation and administrative work for many years. However, objective data on the actual time allocation between different activities in daily general practice remain scarce. Such data are essential to inform health policy decisions and to design targeted strategies to reduce workload. This feasibility study aimed to explore whether, and how, the time spent on the various tasks in general practice can be reliably captured using a time and motion study design.

A structured category system for systematic time recording was developed based on previously published international time-motion studies. The main categories included direct clinical contact, documentation and desk work, administrative activities, and other tasks. Real-time observations were conducted, and all activities were coded in fixed two-minute intervals.

In total, 4,214 minutes of working time were recorded for four GPs. Of these, 36.8 % were spent in direct patient contact, 33.7 % on documentation and desk work, 18.5 % on administrative activities, and 11.0 % on other tasks. Self-employed GPs spent a smaller proportion of time in direct patient contact (16.0 %) and more on administrative activities (13.2 %) compared with employed GPs (20.7 % and 5.3 %, respectively).

This pilot demonstrates that time-motion studies are feasible in the general practice setting and can be scaled up for broader implementation. Preliminary findings indicate that German GPs devote a comparatively high proportion of their working time to administrative activities. Notably, self-employed GPs spent less time in direct patient contact and nearly twice as much time on administrative tasks compared with their employed counterparts.