Seeing too many patients can impact the care a doctor provides

Modern medicine is big business. Although some small, private medical practices still exist, massive medical corporations and huge umbrella practices associated with nearby hospitals have become the standard across the United States.

As such, doctors have less control than they once did over how they practice medicine and the relationship they have with their patients. Instead of being a boss, the doctor is now an employee subject to the income expectations of their employer, who may put profits ahead of patients.

How many patients does a physician see?

It might surprise you to know that the physician you see and trust to know your medical history and help you understand your symptoms may potentially see thousands of patients each year. That means that they have very little time to interact with each individual patient.

The less time a doctor spends with you, the less familiar they will be with your form of homeostasis and the more likely they are to fail to diagnose you properly when you report symptoms. In other words, too many patients can increase a doctor’s risk of medical malpractice.

Doctors often only have a few minutes to spare per patient

Seeing a doctor often involves a lot of waiting. You will probably try to get to the appointment early, as many offices do not let people who arrive late see the doctor and may still bill them for the visit. Even if you get there on time, chances are good that you will wait to get taken into the back to be seen. Then, you will wait in an exam room for the physician to come see you.

When they finally do, they would glance over their notes, fire off a few questions and then seemingly make a snap judgment within moments regarding how they want to proceed. Most doctors see 20 patients a day. In theory, that would give them some time to talk to each patient, but doctors must also perform substantial paperwork and other secondary tasks related to their practice.

The result is that the patient may get only a few moments of face time. When doctors don’t have the time to interact with and know their patients, the quality of care that the patients receive will suffer.