By Evan Falchuk

I’ve blogged for a long time (like here, here and here) about how the conventional approach to health care systematically devalues the thinking, processing and deciding aspects of medical decision-making.  Among the symptoms of this problem is the limited amount of time doctors are expected to spend with their patients.  For example, the latest government data show that the average doctor visit features face time with the doctor of less than 15 minutes.

Now, a new study is out.  Some of those talking about it are saying the time problem is being solved.

Really?

According to the study, between 1997 and 2005, the average length of a doctor visit increased significantly.  Well, statistically significantly.  It went from 18 minutes to 20 minutes 48 seconds.

Does it mean anything?  A study by ABC News earlier this year found that the number one complaint patients have about their doctors is the amount of time they get to spend with them.  Patients don’t seem to be noticing much of a difference.

Still, the whole thing misses the point.  You don’t go to your doctor to spend time with him or her.  You go to the doctor to find answers to your medical problems.  You go to your doctor because you want him to listen to you, answer your questions, and give you confidence about the next steps in your care.   Having limited time with your doctor doesn’t help, but pushing the median to 22 minutes or 24 minutes or whatever isn’t the answer.

The answer lies in fundamentally rethinking our approach to health care.  We need to move away from the fixation on units of health care and towards a focus on the needs of the patient.  We need to have a profound respect for the doctor-patient relationship, for the time doctors are able to spend thinking about their patients.  We need a system that puts these fundamentally qualitative measures of care at the center, and not the assembly-line metrics that have for too long moved health care away from serving the needs of patients and their doctors.

So, I guess it’s a good thing that patients have an extra three minutes of time.  But health care shouldn’t be about reducing the rush your doctor is in to an acceptable level.  It’s about things that are more fundamental, and more important, to patients and their doctors.