by Michael Woodhead  

Red tape, technology and sheer pressure of work mean doctors are spending less time actually seeing, talking and examining patients, a group of hospital doctors warn this week.  

And the looming increases in student numbers will only make things worse, forcing medical educators to develop alternative learning techniques at the expense of hands-on patient contact, an article in the MJA this week says.  

Junior doctors now spend just 15% of their day actually with patients, and the rest of their time doing clerical work, in meetings, doing clinical handovers or performing tests, writes Dr Bill Lancashire, director of Critical Care Medicine at Port Macquarie hospital in NSW.  

He says many younger doctors are dissatisfied because patient contact time is limited by paperwork, safer working hours regulations and the need to comply with guidelines and protocols.    

And with the number of medical graduates expected to double by 2014, there is a need to ensure that younger doctors still have contact time with patients, he says.  

Medical schools should be encouraged to continue to teach patient-centred care with real patients as well as simulation, he says.  

“Consultants must lead by example. The responsibility to see patients and abide by simple rules lies with the doctor. If these rules are followed, the doctor will rarely go wrong, the patient will usually feel better and be reassured, and the doctor’s actions will always be defensible.”