The Article in Brief

Background: Many Americans are not receiving recommended health care services. This is of particular concern for patients with chronic illnesses, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, because chronic illnesses can be difficult to control. This study estimated the amount of time required to care for patients with chronic illnesses if national guidelines are followed.
What This Study Found: An average primary care doctor needs at least 2,484 hours per year, or 10.6 hours per day, to provide care for 10 common chronic diseases. This is more time than primary care doctors have available for all patient care. Furthermore, it does not include the time needed to provide preventive care, acute care, and needed follow-up.
Implications:
* The time requirements for health care guidelines are an obstacle to delivering care to patients with chronic diseases.
* Guideline developers should carefully consider the time required to follow recommendations.
* It might be helpful to write guidelines that include more than one condition, rather than multiple single guidelines.