Effective communication between physicians and patients is a hallmark of good care, and has many benefits for the patient, including discussion of information that helps to prevent health problems and injuries.
Not surprisingly, a study of pediatric primary care, "Duration of a Well-Child Visit: Association with Content, Family-Centeredness and Satisfaction," in the October 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online Sept. 19) found that longer doctor visits resulted in more information being delivered and better patient satisfaction. But the increasingly frenetic pace of pediatric practice is not always conducive to this ideal level of communication.
Researchers surveyed parents or caregivers of nearly 2,000 infants and toddlers about their child's last checkup, including the length of the visit with the pediatrician and which age-appropriate issues were covered by the doctor, such as immunizations, breastfeeding, injury prevention, developmental milestones and psychosocial issues. Researchers also asked questions to determine how "family-centered" the parents felt their child's care was, and the parents' overall satisfaction with the care.
One-third of parents reported well-child visit times with the clinician of 10 minutes or less, while 20 percent reported visit times of 21 minutes or more. Shorter visits were associated with less preventive care discussion and lower reports of family-centered care. However, even with the shortest visits, parent satisfaction was generally high.
The study results show that when time was limited, pediatricians were more likely to cover the traditional topics first, such as breastfeeding and immunization, then widen the discussion to include newer or additional topics as time allowed. Developmental assessments were provided about half of the time in the shortest visits, and about 70 percent of the time in the longest visits.
The authors concluded that efforts to improve preventive services will require strategies that address the time and resources devoted to well-child care.
