Primary care physicians spend 61.8 hours/week caring for patient panel, according to study

Medical Xpress October 24, 2025
Elana Gotkine

Primary care physicians (PCPs) spend an average of 61.8 hours per week caring for a patient panel, according to a study published online Oct. 21 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Lisa S. Rotenstein, M.D., from the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional, observational study to estimate the yearly work effort involved for PCPs in caring for a patient panel in 33 clinics in the Mass General Brigham health system. Participants included 406 PCPs who delivered care for at least nine months in 2021.

The researchers found that for a 1.0-clinical full-time-equivalent physician assuming a 46-week work year, median work effort was 2,844.3 yearly hours or 61.8 weekly hours for a...

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