[Physician time spent on indirect treatment and administration at Roskilde county hospital Fjorden]

Over a two week period (1994) the 27 physicians at a psychiatric hospital registered the time used on indirect treatment (conferences, rounds, etc.). This amounted to 21-37% of total time, while time spent on administration amounted to 7-46% of total time depending on the seniority of the doctor involved. An estimated one hour per week per patient was used for indirect treatment. An insignificant amount of time was spent on interviews with relatives. We conclude that although it would be desirable to reduce the time spent on indirect treatment, the new demands made on community psychiatry with involvement of relatives, etc., would rather tend to give rise to more obligations in this area.