Study: Doctors in India see patients for just two minutes
A global study on the details of medical consultation found that doctors, also called primary care consultants, in India see their patients for barely two minutes on an average. Apparently, ranging from 48 seconds in Bangladesh to 22.5 minutes in Sweden, primary care consultations last less than five minutes for half of the world's population. Here's more about the study.
Primary care consultation in neighboring countries seems worse
For half of the world's population, primary care consultations last less than 5 minutes. India's neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan seem worse off, with the length of medical consultation averaging 48 seconds and 1.3 minutes, respectively. However, in the first world countries such as Norway, the US or Sweden, doctors see patients for 20 minutes on an average.
Increasing the number of doctors is the way
In the Indian context, the shorter consultation times is a reflection of the shortage of primary care physicians and overcrowded health care hubs. Therefore, to improve the length of consultation, increasing the number of doctors in primary care is the best way.
