Imagine you just got to the ER. Do you know how much time on average a doctor will see you for?

Expect about 6 minutes.

Across the country, metrics for physician efficiency in the ER are 1.6 to 2 patients per hour. For an 8 hour shift at the “easiest“ places to work, that would amount to seeing 13 patients (16 patients at the most efficient). Let's see what 13 patients get of 560 minutes in the attached image.

6 minutes to get a history, do a physical exam, and talk through a plan together. 6 minutes to counsel my patients who are worried they are having miscarriages, or their dementia and confusion is getting worse, or they're addicted to drugs or in an abusive relationship.

Just think of what gymnastics physicians are going through to do the right things with these competing demands on their time.

So much of the lost time is avoidable. I have a scribe one ER I work at. This combined with orders placed at triage can give me back 113 minutes or 9.4 more minutes with each patient.

Carte Clinics is inspired by the opportunity to leverage doctor time to best serve patients. We cut our lower value tasks for our physicians so the vast majority of their working time is spent directly helping members.