How long is a typical doctor’s appointment in Israel? What should I expect, and does it matter if I am given a very short doctor’s appointment?
Changes in lifestyle have had an impact on modern medicine. Much of this, if not all, comes down to money. Health insurance limits one’s options for how long a medical appointment can be as well as what kind of appointments you can book. Put another way, there is limit to what kind of health professional you are free to consult with.
If you are living in Israel and follow allopathic healthcare in the National Health services, the first doctor you will see will be the family doctor. Family doctors cover a very basic over-view of your health and will issue a referral for most matters. Anything related to the digestive system can be referred to a gastroenterologist but also might be referred to a doctor for the liver or another part of the digestive system. Skin problems might require a dermatologist but could be referred to a plastic surgeon or perhaps an allergist. So, the list of referrals continues and grows. With each potential specialist that you can be referred to, so your time becomes filled with booking appointments, going for appointments, following through with an array of tests.
When it comes to allied health professionals, doctors tend to remember a physiotherapist, psychologist and social worker before considering an occupational therapist. If you request a referral to occupational therapy, you might receive a referral and then again you may also enter into an argument as to why occupational therapy is indicated.
So how does a family doctor know who to send you to, next? One would hope they would spend the time doing a thorough evaluation, in order to send you to the most suitable specialist. A thorough evaluation begins with reading the information that is found in your medical file and should continue to asking some questions and finally a physical examination. How long does it take for a doctor to evaluate?
Why does it matter how long a doctor’s appointment is or should be?
That’s a good question. Firstly, we all have busy schedules. Even a housewife has to know to budget her time. There are all kinds of details that crop up in our day that necessitate our knowing how we spend our time and where we will be at various hours of the day. Aside from time management, it is important to know that the doctor will have enough time available to attend to whatever your problem is. The question is how much time does it really take to evaluate and help a patient?
The truth is that really depends on the person and the situation. There are times that a person might need to go to a doctor to request a repeat prescription or for a letter to take to work for sick leave. Perhaps all you need is for the doctor to provide a prescription for your regular blood tests or for a urine test. These kinds of appointments usually are pretty quick.
However, there are times that the health system will have a limit on a medication necessitating a doctor prescribing a substitute. If you are generally in good health, taking a substitute could be a simple matter. If you have allergies, then the doctor needs to have the time to either read the list of your allergies and check his list to make sure that the substitute is not something you are allergic to or to listen to you telling him your list of allergies. As you can see, there are all kinds of variables that can affect how long even a straightforward request might take.
In addition to time spent directly with the doctor, there are other details that can fill your time. This includes time waiting for secretaries, time waiting for a nurse, time waiting for the doctor’s appointment and of course travel time. That means that even a 5-minute doctor appointment can end up taking very much longer. When the secretary begins to fit in patients who have no appointment, then budgeting your time becomes near to impossible.
How long is the actual appointment?
Over the last few years, I have been amazed to see the time allocation for patients does not make much sense. A patient list positioned outside a dermatologist’s room, showed patients booked just 3 minutes apart. The same was true for an ENT appointment. A family doctor had patients book at 5-minute intervals, while a GIT appointment was 5-10 minutes at most.
The waiting time for these doctors was anything from 20 minutes to 3 hours. For someone who is really ill, perhaps with a temperature, having to wait for 3 hours to see a doctor is problematic.
How much of that time is spent directly with the patient?
More and more we are seeing that doctors spend most of the time that is allocated per patient with their computer and not evaluating or even talking to the patient. With appointments at just 3-10 minutes, perhaps that is not surprising, but is this effective healthcare?
Wondering whether we were the only ones noticing these details I began to talk to others here in Israel. One person said she thought that appointments with specialists are supposed to be 15 minutes to half an hour. It would be good if that were always the case, if so, why are we seeing patient lists with times of just 3 minutes for dermatologist or ENT?
Someone noted that a GIT spends 15 minutes with a patient, while an orthopoedist is given 7 minutes per patient. Family doctor appointments seem to vary from 5-12 minutes. Is this really enough time for effective medical treatment?
My questioning the time that doctors spend with their patients increased when I began to explore alternative therapies. A mini consultation with a naturopath took half an hour. When I asked how long a full consultation would be I was told 45 minutes to an hour. An initial evaluation with a homeopath took two hours. Both of these practitioners took more thorough histories and listened carefully to both wording used and our needs.
When I used to treat as an occupational therapist, an appointment typically is 40 minutes to an hour. How then can it be that a doctor can managed to evaluate or treat a patient in 3 – 15 minutes. Are we receiving the healthcare that we need and deserve? Is it surprising then that doctors, sometimes make mistakes, referring to the wrong specialist or not finding out the real underlying problem? Related to this, is it any wonder that, for the most part , they do not think to refer to services like occupational therapy? Is there anything we can do about these very short appointments and long waiting times?
A tip that a family doctor gave me was if you know that you have a question or issue that will need more time, book a double appointment so that the doctor can have the time to listen to your needs and evaluate you. A physical examination is still important, even in the modern age of computers and technology
What are your thoughts and your experiences. Are these very short doctor’s appointments really enough? Put your comment in the comments below.