Do Patient Age and Education Affect GP Consultation Length?
03 Dec 2025
A recent study has explored what influences the length of GP consultations beyond just the number of medical issues raised.
Factors that might influence this, such as patient age and education and who initiates the discussion, were examined by researchers Dr Sarah White, Kompal Sinha, and Irene Simpson. Their findings were published last month in Health Literacy and Communication Open.
A total of 41 videoed consultations with three Sydney GPs over the period 2018-2019 were analysed. All patients were 18 years or older and fluent in English. Consultation data were linked to surveys capturing age, gender, language, relationship status, education and occupation.
The researchers found that consultation length is determined by more factors than the number of health concerns presented. Standard consultations, from six to 20 minutes, may not be sufficient for patients who have multiple or complex issues, especially for younger patients.
Education also seemed to play a role. Patients with tertiary education tended to have shorter consultations compared to those whose highest education was high school. The authors said this might reflect higher health literacy, noting that the more educated patients did not reduce the number of concerns they raised during visits.
"Future policy and workload planning should take into consideration patient age and education when determining consultation length," the researchers wrote.
Ms Irene Simpson, a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales, underscored the importance for younger patients who often have multiple, different concerns that are novel to the GP. “It would be beneficial if younger patients could book longer consultations to structure their concerns effectively,” she told newsGP.
However, current MBS rebates favour shorter consultations. Ms Simpson suggested that upfront agenda-setting, where the patient or doctor outlines all issues at the start of the consultation, may help manage time more efficiently.
Dr White, a specialist in health communication, added that agenda-setting is part of RACGP training but underutilized. “Even though it’s advised, it can feel awkward to say, ‘You’ve told me this problem, now tell me another problem,’” she said. “We found that when either the patient or GP took a more active role in directing the consultation, it tended to be slightly shorter.”
The study has not explored how the length of the existing doctor–patient relationship or the frequency of visits might influence consultation time, areas suggested for future research. Furthermore, the authors pointed out that the small sample size may limit the generalizability of the findings to the broader population.
News Source: RACGP
