Analysis of ambulatory consultation length in medical clinics

Planning a schedule for medical appointments in health services must be efficient and flexible, but also it has to meet the needs of patients, health professionals and non-medical staff There are large differences in the opinion about the optimal duration to meet these objectives, across countries. In this paper we propose to perform a review of the literature to estimate the appropriate length of a medical consultation in primary care, based on international standards. We conclude that managers of health systems should rethink the way they organize the agenda for medical appointments. Medical and bioethical reasons suggest assigning a lapse close to 20 minutes for consultations in medical clinics.