More Physician Time Provides Better Outcomes

Doubling the physician-patient encounter time can increase median time to target A1c, blood pressure, and LDL goals….

In order to provide frequent encounter without sacrificing a lot of healthcare resources, more innovative approaches may be required to alleviate physician workloads.

It is always important for physicians to spend adequate amounts of time to manage his patient’s disease condition. Especially, diabetes is a disease that requires a lot of management from the physician since it can cause microvascular and macrovascular complications. A study of Alexander Turchin, MD, MS, and colleagues showed that there is a strong correlation between physician-patient encounter frequency and A1c, blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol control in diabetic patients.

According to Dr. Turchin, “Doubling the time between physician encounters was also found to increase median time to A1c, BP, and LDL cholesterol targets. More frequent opportunities for medication intensification are likely an important factor in our findings.” Also, increasing encounter time can help in providing better patient education that is very beneficial in improved medication adherence and lifestyle modifications.

However, more frequent encounters would require more physician availability, which translates into more healthcare resource demand. With that being said, there must be an innovative approach to help alleviate physician workload without sacrificing a lot of healthcare resources. Some examples are telephone/email/fax follow-up, group education or Internet communications. Also, mid-level providers can help improve patient outcomes and lessen physician burdens.

Morrison F, Shubina M, Turchin A. Encounter Frequency and Serum Glucose Level, Blood Pressure, and Cholesterol Level Control in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus. Arch Intern Med. 2011;171:1542-1550