Evaluating time in health care: What are we busy about?

Abstract

At the end of the day, there are both economic and less tangible benefits to having predictable clinic operations in which people's medical and behavioral health needs are met. These different benefits, stemming from changes in how time is used, are relevant to a wide range of stakeholders including administrators, clinicians, and patients. In short, time is one of our most important resources in health care. Therefore, time studies have a crucial role to play in advancing the implementation of integrated care. In this editorial we describe several methods for measuring time and invite readers to consider which of these (or another method you're aware of) balances your needs for precision and feasibility of measurement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).