Peer-reviewed research

Time Spent in Face-to-Face Patient Care and Work Outside the Examination Room

Andrew Gottschalk and Susan A. Flocke, The Annals of Family Medicine, 2005 · DOI 10.1370/afm.404

Read on October 19, 2026

What it is: A time-motion study in which observers recorded how 11 primary care physicians from eight practices spent their time on 21 randomly selected patient care days, in 55 activities, including reading mail or e-mail and working on the chart outside the examination room.
How much weight it carries: Peer-reviewed. Direct observation rather than self-report, but a small sample of 11 physicians on 21 days from a limited number of practices, and the study predates electronic health records in most offices, so chart and e-mail time is likely to be higher now.

Facts taken from this source

In a 2005 time-motion study of 11 primary care physicians, reviewing, writing or dictating chart notes for patients not currently being seen took an average of 0.69 hours a day, which is 3.45 hours a week at five workdays.
“Work outside the examination room related to care of patients not currently being seen ... Chart (reviewing, writing, or dictating notes) 0.69 (0.64) 8.0” (Table 1: Work outside the examination room related to care of patients not currently being seen)
In a 2005 time-motion study of 11 primary care physicians, reading mail or e-mail took an average of 0.04 hours a day, which is 0.2 hours a week at five workdays.
“Table 1. Continued Time Use Categories and Activities Hours Mean (SD) Percent of Total Workday ... Reading mail or e-mail 0.04 (0.05) 0.5” (Table 1, continued: Other work outside the examination room)
In a 2005 time-motion study of 11 primary care physicians, reviewing, writing or dictating chart notes during visit-specific work outside the examination room took an average of 0.52 hours a day, which is 2.6 hours a week at five workdays.
“Time Use Categories and Activities Hours Mean (SD) Percent of Total Workday ... Chart (reviewing, writing, or dictating notes) 0.52 (0.62) 6.0” (Table 1: Visit-specific work outside the examination room)

Peer-reviewed research

Andrew Gottschalk and Susan A. Flocke, The Annals of Family Medicine, 2005 · DOI 10.1370/afm.404

Read on October 19, 2026

What it is: A time-motion study in which observers recorded how 11 primary care physicians from eight practices spent their time on 21 randomly selected patient care days, in 55 activities, including reading mail or e-mail and working on the chart outside the examination room.
How much weight it carries: Peer-reviewed. Direct observation rather than self-report, but a small sample of 11 physicians on 21 days from a limited number of practices, and the study predates electronic health records in most offices, so chart and e-mail time is likely to be higher now.

In a 2005 time-motion study of 11 primary care physicians, reviewing, writing or dictating chart notes for patients not currently being seen took an average of 0.69 hours a day, which is 3.45 hours a week at five workdays.
“Work outside the examination room related to care of patients not currently being seen ... Chart (reviewing, writing, or dictating notes) 0.69 (0.64) 8.0” (Table 1: Work outside the examination room related to care of patients not currently being seen)
In a 2005 time-motion study of 11 primary care physicians, reading mail or e-mail took an average of 0.04 hours a day, which is 0.2 hours a week at five workdays.
“Table 1. Continued Time Use Categories and Activities Hours Mean (SD) Percent of Total Workday ... Reading mail or e-mail 0.04 (0.05) 0.5” (Table 1, continued: Other work outside the examination room)
In a 2005 time-motion study of 11 primary care physicians, reviewing, writing or dictating chart notes during visit-specific work outside the examination room took an average of 0.52 hours a day, which is 2.6 hours a week at five workdays.
“Time Use Categories and Activities Hours Mean (SD) Percent of Total Workday ... Chart (reviewing, writing, or dictating notes) 0.52 (0.62) 6.0” (Table 1: Visit-specific work outside the examination room)