Office efficiency in primary care.

Abstract

Little has been written examining the issue of what contributes to efficiency in the primary care setting in HMOs. After a review of the literature, an informal study of primary care physicians at Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound is described. Issues of physical space, telephone use, teamwork, the medical encounter, hospital rounds, charting, paperwork, and shifting gears when busy are addressed in the context of provider and patient satisfaction.