LETTER
Time
Edward J. Volpintesta, MD
15 April 1998 | Volume 128 Issue 8 | Page 698
TO THE EDITOR:
I write regarding Dr. Davidoff's comments [1] about the diminishing amount of time we have to spend with patients. There are understandable reasons why we have sped up the doctor visit. For most physicians, particularly under managed care, the only way to keep up with overhead and make a decent living is to see more patients per hour.
In addition, patients expect us to be perfect because of our technology. So, it is easy to tell ourselves that spending time with them isn't as important as preserving our aura of being "perfect." And sadly, the specter of malpractice has only made the situation worse. God forbid that we should miss a diagnosis because we didn't order a test and the patient goes to another physician who does. Why waste time talking to patients when ordering another test or two is what really counts?
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Author and Article Information
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Bethel Medical Group; Bethel, CT 06801
1. Davidoff F. Time [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 1997; 127:483-5.
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