[Characteristics of consultations by general practitioners in Switzerland - time, topics and verbal behaviour]

To conduct consultations is the main task of general practitioners. This study concerns itself with consultations, what they are about, how they are structured and how their achievements can be described. In total, 127 recorded consultations were analysed. The 12 recorded general practitioners were themselves involved in the data analysis. The analysis confirms that in comparison to the European average, the Swiss consultation is rather long with a consultation length of 12.5 minutes. 80% of the consultation time is taken up by mere conversation. Per average, three medical topics are discussed within that time. Thus, about three minutes are at disposal per topic. In every consultation we can also find one non-medical topic. The structure of a consultation is complex and changes continually depending on the performed tasks.