Primary Care: Is There Enough Time for Prevention?

TLDR

The study aimed to quantify how much time primary care physicians need to deliver all USPSTF‑recommended preventive services to an average patient panel. Using published and estimated service times, the authors calculated the annual physician time required to provide every recommended preventive service to a typical panel of 2,500 patients. Delivering all USPSTF‑recommended preventive services requires 1,773 physician hours per year (about 7.4 hours per working day), a burden that limits compliance.

Abstract

Objectives. We sought to determine the amount of time required for a primary care physician to provide recommended preventive services to an average patient panel. Methods. We used published and estimated times per service to determine the physician time required to provide all services recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), at the recommended frequency, to a patient panel of 2500 with an age and sex distribution similar to that of the US population. Results. To fully satisfy the USPSTF recommendations, 1773 hours of a physician’s annual time, or 7.4 hours per working day, is needed for the provision of preventive services. Conclusions. Time constraints limit the ability of physicians to comply with preventive services recommendations.