Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Gain time by slowing down with your patients

Josh Umbehr, MD
Physician
September 20, 2017
1K Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

We humans can’t help but shove as much as possible into one minute, one hour, one day. We’re rewarded for doing it, too. Society says that the more you check off your list, the more productive you are. And by default, then, the more productive you are, the more successful you are. So, we rush. We search for ways to skip steps and still get the same result. We fill downtime with more stuff in the name of said productivity.

We load up our arms with more grocery bags than we can carry because we simply refuse to waste time making two trips.

We pull out our phones at red lights so we can jump on the email that came through five seconds ago. Or check Facebook.

We give patients seven minutes of our time. And we spend four of those thinking about what’s waiting for us in the next exam room.

Where has that gotten us? Actually, it’s making us sick.

In his book In Praise of Slowness, Carl Honore talks about how American Physician Larry Dossey coined the term “time sickness” to describe the obsessive belief that “time is getting away, that there isn’t enough of it, and that you must pedal faster and faster to keep up.” These days, he says, the whole world is time-sick. We know that includes the pace of health care.

It’s time to heal ourselves. Slow down and get back to what really matters. Put quality in its rightful place on the forefront and kick quantity’s ridiculous demands to the curb. Traditional health care doesn’t really allow for that kind of thinking, though, does it?

Thank goodness for direct care, where everything is slowed way, way down to a pace everyone’s comfortable with.

Time is the model’s most valuable asset. Let’s take a look at the most obvious example of what makes this true. Direct care doctors spend 30 to 45 minutes with each patient. Every. Single. One. Neither patient nor doctor is rushed. It’s not even that they just don’t feel rushed. They aren’t rushed. And this also doesn’t mean the doctor is then running 37 minutes late. That block of precious time has been accounted for. Inside those minutes, the doc and patient have nowhere else to be. They are each other’s utmost priority during that time.

What else happens when we slow down?

We realize the value in “less is more.” We keep a smaller panel so we can make time for each patient on it. We carve out more exam room time than we probably need just in case it’s … well, wanted. We leave plenty of room for questions that require more than yes or no answers. And we get a much better look at what comprehensive, personalized care really means. Our fringe hours don’t have to be consumed with more stuff because we already have plenty of time to get through our list. Our fringe hours are spent doing things we want to do: research, growing our business, golfing, attending car shows, hanging out with family.

Direct care isn’t a “war against speed.” Rather, it’s the result of a challenge accepted. The challenge to seek quality instead of quantity. To thoughtfully examine what happens in the brief pauses between the sentences of a conversation. And to make the most out of something we humans hold so dearly: relationships.

So, go ahead. Treat your patients slowly. Get better from all those years of being time-sick. Direct care will help you make it happen, minute by minute.

Josh Umbehr is founder, Atlas.md.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

The story of how a hospital is being sacrificed for money

September 20, 2017 Kevin 4
…
Next

6 tips for medical students to get the perfect match

September 21, 2017 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Practice Management, Primary Care, Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The story of how a hospital is being sacrificed for money
Next Post >
6 tips for medical students to get the perfect match

More by Josh Umbehr, MD

  • Direct primary care: Being different is the biggest asset of all

    Josh Umbehr, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Obesity is a disease: Does that change the way doctors practice?

    Josh Umbehr, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Today’s high deductibles are tomorrow’s bad debt

    Josh Umbehr, MD

Related Posts

  • Are patients using social media to attack physicians?

    David R. Stukus, MD
  • A perk of Medicare for all: More time for doctors and patients

    Rani Marx, PhD, MPH and James G. Kahn, PhD
  • You are abandoning your patients if you are not active on social media

    Pat Rich
  • It’s time for a comprehensive universal health care system in America

    Sagar Chapagain
  • Primary care makes a difference for patients and the nation

    Glen R. Stream, MD
  • How our health care system traumatizes patients

    Linda Girgis, MD

More in Physician

  • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • Discover the power of patience

    Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH
  • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

    Kim Downey, PT
  • Physician return-to-work policies

    Deepak Gupta, MD
  • How my patients’ Zoom backgrounds made me a better doctor

    Joseph Barrera, MD
  • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

    Anonymous
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Addressing dual diagnosis needs in addiction treatment

      Susan Hertz Berrick, EdD | Conditions
    • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Discover the power of patience

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Novavax's Updated COVID Shot Authorized by FDA
  • SBRT Noninferior to Conventional RT for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer
  • Mixed Bag for Early Metformin in Gestational Diabetes
  • FDA Advisors to Consider DFMO Maintenance for High-Risk Neuroblastoma in Kids
  • Adding Tirzepatide to Basal Insulin Cuts HbA1c in Poorly Controlled T2D

Meeting Coverage

  • SBRT Noninferior to Conventional RT for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer
  • Mixed Bag for Early Metformin in Gestational Diabetes
  • Adding Tirzepatide to Basal Insulin Cuts HbA1c in Poorly Controlled T2D
  • Low Relapse Rates With Twice-Yearly Schizophrenia Treatment
  • Menopause Can Negatively Affect Women's Careers
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Addressing dual diagnosis needs in addiction treatment

      Susan Hertz Berrick, EdD | Conditions
    • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Discover the power of patience

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Gain time by slowing down with your patients
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...