The DOI matches its Crossref record; 22 of the 22 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Evolving general practice consultation in Britain: issues of length and context
Open accessAbstract
In 1999 Shah 1 and others said that the Royal College of General Practitioners should advocate longer consultations in general practice as a matter of policy.The college set up a working group chaired by A P Hungin, and a systematic review of literature on consultation length in general practice was commissioned.The working group agreed that the available evidence would be hard to interpret without discussion of the changing context within which consultations now take place.For many years general practitioners and those who have surveyed patients' opinions in the United Kingdom have complained about short consultation time, despite a steady increase in actual mean length.Recently Mechanic pointed out that this is also true in the United States. 2 Is there any justification for a further increase in mean time allocated per consultation in general practice?We report on the outcome of extensive debate among a group of general practitioners with an interest in the process of care, with reference to the interim findings of the commissioned systematic review and our personal databases.The review identified 14 relevant papers. Summary pointsLonger consultations are associated with a range of better patient outcomes Modern consultations in general practice deal with patients with more serious and chronic conditions Increasing patient participation means more complex interaction, which demands extra time Difficulties with access and with loss of continuity add to perceived stress and poor performance and lead to further pressure on time Longer consultations should be a professional priority, combined with increased use of technology and more flexible practice management to maximise interpersonal continuity Research on implementation is needed
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“Longer consultations allow for a more thorough assessment, which helps improve diagnoses and reduces the chance of missing important details [283,284,285].”
From Toward Safer Diagnoses: A SEIPS-Based Narrative Review of Diagnostic Errors (2026) · cites this paper as [284]
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Cites
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Self-citationThe exceptional potential in each primary care consultation.
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What future for continuity of care in general practice?
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How should hamsters run? Some observations about sufficient patient time in primary care
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Cited by
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Substitution of doctors by nurses in primary care
Laurant, M. G. H., Reeves, D., Hermens, R., Braspenning, J., Grol, R. P. T. M., & Sibbald, B. (2005) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd001271.pub2 · Cited by 961
The OPTION scale: measuring the extent that clinicians involve patients in decision‐making tasks
Elwyn, G. J., Hutchings, H. A., Edwards, A., Rapport, F., Wensing, M., Cheung, W., & Grol, R. P. T. M. (2005) · Health Expectations · doi:10.1111/j.1369-7625.2004.00311.x · Cited by 494
Integrative Medicine and Patient-Centered Care
Maizes, V., Rakel, D. P., & Niemiec, C. (2009) · EXPLORE · doi:10.1016/j.explore.2009.06.008 · Cited by 418
Mauksch, L. B. (2008) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.168.13.1387 · Cited by 299
Team structure, team climate and the quality of care in primary care: an observational study
Bower, P. (2003) · Quality and Safety in Health Care · doi:10.1136/qhc.12.4.273 · Cited by 277
Metadata
- Authors
- Freeman, G. K., Horder, J. P., Howie, J. G. R., Hungin, A. P., Hill, A. P., Shah, N. C., & Wilson, A.
- Affiliations
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Freeman, George K
- Venue
- BMJ
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2002-04-13
- Volume
- 324
- Issue
- 7342
- Pages
- 880-882
- ISSN
- 0007-1447 (ISSN-L)
- 0959-8138
- 1468-5833
- PMC
- PMC101402
- OpenAlex
- W2151816860
- Cited by
- 195
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 36.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.bmj.com/company/legal-information/terms-conditions/legal-information/tdm-licencepolicy (tdm)
- Locations
- BMJ (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Leicester Research Archive (University of Leicester) (submittedVersion)
- DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Royal College of General Practitioners
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Family Practice › Primary Care and Health Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Healthcare Systems and Technology
- Keywords
- consultation time, general practice, primary care, patient outcomes, patient participation, continuity of care, health care access, general practitioners, practice management, health technology, Royal College of General Practitioners
- MeSH terms
- Family Practice, United Kingdom, Humans, Office Visits, State Medicine, Time Factors, Patient Satisfaction
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