Dr Simone Stromer, a GP at the Park Family Practice at Bondi Junction, with patient Ada. Picture: Gibson Nic Source: The Daily Telegraph
TIME-poor patients are "saving up" multiple medical issues before they see a GP as busy lifestyles lead people to try consultation cramming.
Despite Australians living longer and suffering more chronic diseases, the average appointment time remains about 15 minutes.
Study program Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) which looks at GP practices, reveals a significant increase in "multiple" reasons for GP visits, while the proportion of single encounters has dropped.
Demographer Professor Graeme Hugo, of the University of Adelaide, said Australians were more time-poor and tended to "save up things" to see a doctor about.
He said Australians were surviving longer and more needed treatment for a number of medical conditions, including diabetes and obesity.He also said he believed women made up a disproportionately higher percentage of those seeing a doctor for more than one reason.
"They have carer responsibilities both downward to their children and upward to their parents," he said of women.
"Add that to working outside of home and looking after the home; that could be a significant load and the time- poor issue is significant."
GP Dr Simone Stromer, who works at the Park Family Practice in Bondi Junction, said there were always those patients who saved everything up for one consultation and came in with a "shopping list" of medical issues.
"I think that's human nature," he said. "People are definitely wanting more health problems addressed and I think that's because of diseases that are becoming more common and that doctors are picking up on these conditions more."
According to the A Decade Of Australian General Practice Activity Report 2002-03 To 2011-12, there were now significantly more general check-ups, needs for prescriptions had risen by 20 per cent and the number of those seeking medical certificates had increased by 80 per cent.
The number of patients with diabetes increased by about 60 per cent.
Other GP trends in the report include more women doctors (rising from 35 to 41 per cent); less GPs working in practices providing after hours care (down from 43 to 31 per cent); and the average age of GPs is increasing (those aged 35-44 dropped from 27 to 19 per cent, while the proportion aged 55 years and over increased from 31 to 41 per cent).
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