RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Tasks in general practice can be divided into three areas: acute care, planned secondary and tertiary prevention, and primary prevention. There is some evidence that the demands placed on practitioners by the second and third areas can decrease the time available for the first. OBJECTIVE: To assess the work load of general practitioners and the evidence around benefit for effort, and suggest some strategies for making the most of available time. DISCUSSION: Time wasting in general practice can be doctor-generated, role-generated or Medicare/government-generated. Doctor-generated time wasting includes doing things for which there is evidence of futility and may comprise investigations, screening and specific treatments. Appropriate workforce deployment can reduce role-generated time wasting. Medicare/government-generated waste occurs when there are financial incentives for health care providers to persist in activities with little evidence of benefit, or even evidence of no benefit. GPs need to actively plan to achieve a balance in providing care in the three areas of general practice.