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The image is a familiar one: a patient speaks, while their doctor reluctantly alternates between looking at the patient, their keyboard, and several open windows on their computer. Medical records, prescriptions, lab results, letters, certificates, billing codes, secure messaging... A growing share of medical activity now goes through digital tools.
In 2025, French self-employed general practitioners report working an average of 46 hours per week, with 36 hours and 30 minutes dedicated to consultations, teleconsultations, and home visits. They also spend about 6 hours per week on practice management and coordination with other professionals. The average duration of an in-office consultation has now reached 19 minutes. (1)
So, why does the computer occupy such a significant place in the daily life of doctors? And above all: can we benefit from digital technology without turning the consultation into a face-to-face meeting with a screen?
The computer has become the hub of almost the entire consultation
Digital technology has profoundly transformed medical practice. Today, almost every stage of the patient journey generates or requires a digital action. During a consultation, a doctor can consult the file, retrieve medical history and exams, check treatments, write a prescription or a letter, generate a certificate, code and bill, organize follow-up, and transmit information to other professionals.
The computer is therefore no longer just an administrative tool: it has become a true clinical working interface. This development allows for faster access to information, improved traceability, sharing of certain documents, and better coordination of care. The question is rather how much of the medical time it ultimately consumes.
The image is a familiar one: a patient speaks, while their doctor reluctantly alternates between looking at the patient, their keyboard, and several open windows on their computer. Medical records, prescriptions, lab results, letters, certificates, billing codes, secure messaging... A growing share of medical activity now goes through digital tools.
In 2025, French self-employed general practitioners report working an average of 46 hours per week, with 36 hours and 30 minutes dedicated to consultations, teleconsultations, and home visits. They also spend about 6 hours per week on practice management and coordination with other professionals. The average duration of an in-office consultation has now reached 19 minutes. (1)
So, why does the computer occupy such a significant place in the daily life of doctors? And above all: can we benefit from digital technology without turning the consultation into a face-to-face meeting with a screen?
The computer has become the hub of almost the entire consultation
Digital technology has profoundly transformed medical practice. Today, almost every stage of the patient journey generates or requires a digital action. During a consultation, a doctor can consult the file, retrieve medical history and exams, check treatments, write a prescription or a letter, generate a certificate, code and bill, organize follow-up, and transmit information to other professionals.
The computer is therefore no longer just an administrative tool: it has become a true clinical working interface. This development allows for faster access to information, improved traceability, sharing of certain documents, and better coordination of care. The question is rather how much of the medical time it ultimately consumes.
The digital medical record now represents several hours of work each week
French data precisely measuring the "screen time" of doctors remains limited. However, available data from abroad gives an idea of the scale of the phenomenon.
A study published in 2025 in JAMA Internal Medicine, based on electronic health record usage data from over 280,000 US outpatient physicians, shows that primary care physicians spent an average of approximately 11.3 hours per week of active time on their electronic health records after the start of the pandemic. Among physicians conducting more than 40 consultations per week, this time reached approximately 15.2 hours weekly. (2)
This time includes, in particular, consulting the record, documentation, prescriptions, managing results, patient messages, and various administrative tasks carried out from the software. These figures are not directly transposable to France, but illustrate a trend common to digitised healthcare systems: a significant portion of medical work is now carried out through the computerised record.
The digital medical record now represents several hours of work each week
French data precisely measuring the "screen time" of doctors remains limited. However, available data from abroad gives an idea of the scale of the phenomenon.
A study published in 2025 in JAMA Internal Medicine, based on electronic health record usage data from over 280,000 US outpatient physicians, shows that primary care physicians spent an average of approximately 11.3 hours per week of active time on their electronic health records after the start of the pandemic. Among physicians conducting more than 40 consultations per week, this time reached approximately 15.2 hours weekly. (2)
This time includes, in particular, consulting the record, documentation, prescriptions, managing results, patient messages, and various administrative tasks carried out from the software. These figures are not directly transposable to France, but illustrate a trend common to digitised healthcare systems: a significant portion of medical work is now carried out through the computerised record.
Why has digital technology not automatically saved time?
In theory, digitising a task should make it simpler. In practice, the situation is more complex.
Information is still fragmented
A doctor may have to switch from one tool to another to find a hospital report, a laboratory result, an image, a prescription, a specialist's letter, or information provided by the patient. Even when information exists in digital form, it is not always immediately available in the right place. The problem is then no longer the absence of information, but its dispersion.
This is the whole challenge of interoperability in healthcare: the ability of different software programmes to automatically exchange and understand the information they contain.
Information still often needs to be restructured
A PDF letter, a biological result, a prescription, or a patient message contains useful information, but this does not always arrive in a directly usable form. The doctor must then read, search, interpret, and then enter certain elements into their own file. In other words: digital does not necessarily mean structured.
Why has digital technology not automatically saved time?
In theory, digitising a task should make it simpler. In practice, the situation is more complex.
Information is still fragmented
A doctor may have to switch from one tool to another to find a hospital report, a laboratory result, an image, a prescription, a specialist's letter, or information provided by the patient. Even when information exists in digital form, it is not always immediately available in the right place. The problem is then no longer the absence of information, but its dispersion.
This is the whole challenge of interoperability in healthcare: the ability of different software programmes to automatically exchange and understand the information they contain.
Information still often needs to be restructured
A PDF letter, a biological result, a prescription, or a patient message contains useful information, but this does not always arrive in a directly usable form. The doctor must then read, search, interpret, and then enter certain elements into their own file. In other words: digital does not necessarily mean structured.
New tasks have emerged
Digitalisation has created new uses: patient emails, notifications, requests via platforms, digital documents to consult, automatically transmitted results, and forms to complete. Each task may seem quick, but their accumulation ends up representing a significant volume. The volume of medical messages addressed to doctors has risen sharply since 2020 and remained high several years after the pandemic. (2)
The computer can also invite itself into the doctor-patient relationship
While the patient is speaking, the doctor must sometimes simultaneously listen, think, consult their file, search for information, and enter data. This shared attention can alter the dynamics of the exchange.
An observational study published in 2024, using eye-tracking glasses during 68 consultations, observed that doctors looked at the screen on average about 36% of the time, compared to 33.7% for the patient's face. However, the study did not find a significant relationship between gaze time and the communication quality perceived by patients. (3)
The goal is not to make the screen disappear from the consultation, but to ensure that it mobilises the doctor's attention as little as possible when it does not directly add value to care.
The real challenge: reducing low-medical-value digital work
Analysing a biological result, proofreading a report, or deciding on a prescription naturally falls under medical expertise. But copying information already available elsewhere, searching for a document, re-entering a medical history, updating administrative information, or gathering information again that the patient already knows are more repetitive tasks. Digital technology should make it possible to automate, structure, or carry them out at the most relevant moment of the care pathway.
Another important part of this work concerns in particular the gathering and structuring of the patient's clinical history. This step, called medical history taking (anamnesis), is essential to medical reasoning but can take up several minutes of the consultation.
👉 To go deeper into this topic: Medical history taking: why does it take so much time?
New tasks have emerged
Digitalisation has created new uses: patient emails, notifications, requests via platforms, digital documents to consult, automatically transmitted results, and forms to complete. Each task may seem quick, but their accumulation ends up representing a significant volume. The volume of medical messages addressed to doctors has risen sharply since 2020 and remained high several years after the pandemic. (2)
The computer can also invite itself into the doctor-patient relationship
While the patient is speaking, the doctor must sometimes simultaneously listen, think, consult their file, search for information, and enter data. This shared attention can alter the dynamics of the exchange.
An observational study published in 2024, using eye-tracking glasses during 68 consultations, observed that doctors looked at the screen on average about 36% of the time, compared to 33.7% for the patient's face. However, the study did not find a significant relationship between gaze time and the communication quality perceived by patients. (3)
The goal is not to make the screen disappear from the consultation, but to ensure that it mobilises the doctor's attention as little as possible when it does not directly add value to care.
The real challenge: reducing low-medical-value digital work
Analysing a biological result, proofreading a report, or deciding on a prescription naturally falls under medical expertise. But copying information already available elsewhere, searching for a document, re-entering a medical history, updating administrative information, or gathering information again that the patient already knows are more repetitive tasks. Digital technology should make it possible to automate, structure, or carry them out at the most relevant moment of the care pathway.
Another important part of this work concerns in particular the gathering and structuring of the patient's clinical history. This step, called medical history taking (anamnesis), is essential to medical reasoning but can take up several minutes of the consultation.
👉 To go deeper into this topic: Medical history taking: why does it take so much time?
How to give time back to the doctor?
1. Make software communicate better
When two software packages automatically exchange the necessary information, the doctor avoids certain searches, downloads or double entries. Improving the interoperability of health systems is therefore a major lever for reducing the time spent manipulating information.
2. Automate part of the documentation
Consultation assistants and medical scribes now use artificial intelligence to automatically generate reports from the doctor-patient exchange. A study published in 2024 in JAMA Network Open observed that the use of virtual scribes was associated with an average decrease of 5.6 minutes of time spent in the electronic medical record per appointment. (4)
In recent years, several categories of medical assistants based on artificial intelligence have developed: some automate note-taking during the consultation, while others intervene beforehand to prepare and structure patient information.
👉 To compare their different uses: Which AI medical assistant to choose in 2026?.
How to give time back to the doctor?
1. Make software communicate better
When two software packages automatically exchange the necessary information, the doctor avoids certain searches, downloads or double entries. Improving the interoperability of health systems is therefore a major lever for reducing the time spent manipulating information.
2. Automate part of the documentation
Consultation assistants and medical scribes now use artificial intelligence to automatically generate reports from the doctor-patient exchange. A study published in 2024 in JAMA Network Open observed that the use of virtual scribes was associated with an average decrease of 5.6 minutes of time spent in the electronic medical record per appointment. (4)
In recent years, several categories of medical assistants based on artificial intelligence have developed: some automate note-taking during the consultation, while others intervene beforehand to prepare and structure patient information.
👉 To compare their different uses: Which AI medical assistant to choose in 2026?.
3. Preparing certain information before the consultation
Some of the information entered or searched for during the consultation can sometimes be collected directly from the patient before their appointment: reason for consultation, symptoms, treatments, medical history, risk factors or useful documents.
This preparation allows the doctor to start the consultation with a first level of information already available and to dedicate more time to analysis and discussion.
👉 Why prepare for your medical consultation?
Making digital technology an assistant rather than a constraint
Some assistants intervene during the consultation to automate note-taking. Others, like Aldebaran, intervene beforehand to prepare the information even before the patient arrives. The patient answers a medical questionnaire adapted to their situation; the important information is then structured and summarised so that the doctor can consult it quickly.
According to the Aldebaran 2026 Barometer, the user doctors surveyed estimate that they save an average of 5 minutes per prepared consultation, with a median gain of 3.5 minutes. (5)
Conclusion
The computer has become essential to modern medicine, but this transformation has also shifted a significant amount of work to screens. The challenge of the coming years will therefore probably not be to "digitise less", but to digitise better: making systems communicate, automatically structuring information and automating certain repetitive tasks so that the computer becomes once again a tool at the service of the doctor and the patient.
3. Preparing certain information before the consultation
Some of the information entered or searched for during the consultation can sometimes be collected directly from the patient before their appointment: reason for consultation, symptoms, treatments, medical history, risk factors or useful documents.
This preparation allows the doctor to start the consultation with a first level of information already available and to dedicate more time to analysis and discussion.
👉 Why prepare for your medical consultation?
Making digital technology an assistant rather than a constraint
Some assistants intervene during the consultation to automate note-taking. Others, like Aldebaran, intervene beforehand to prepare the information even before the patient arrives. The patient answers a medical questionnaire adapted to their situation; the important information is then structured and summarised so that the doctor can consult it quickly.
According to the Aldebaran 2026 Barometer, the user doctors surveyed estimate that they save an average of 5 minutes per prepared consultation, with a median gain of 3.5 minutes. (5)
Conclusion
The computer has become essential to modern medicine, but this transformation has also shifted a significant amount of work to screens. The challenge of the coming years will therefore probably not be to "digitise less", but to digitise better: making systems communicate, automatically structuring information and automating certain repetitive tasks so that the computer becomes once again a tool at the service of the doctor and the patient.
Sources of the article
(1) DREES. Self-employed general practitioners work an average of 46 hours per week in 2025. Études et Résultats n°1381, 26 August 2026.
(2) Holmgren AJ, Apathy NC, Sinsky CA, et al. Trends in Physician Electronic Health Record Time and Message Volume. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2025;185(4):461-463.
(3) Observational study presented in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 2024, using eye-tracking during 68 consultations.
(4) Rotenstein L, Melnick ER, Iannaccone C, et al. Virtual Scribes and Physician Time Spent on Electronic Health Records. JAMA Network Open. 2024;7(5)
(5) Aldebaran Barometer 2026: uses of pre-consultation. The barometer reports an average declared gain of 5 minutes per prepared consultation and a median gain of 3.5 minutes.
FAQ
Why do doctors use their computers so much?
How much time does a doctor spend in front of their computer?
Does the computer degrade the doctor-patient relationship?
How can we reduce doctors' IT time?
Can artificial intelligence reduce the time spent in front of the computer?
What information can be collected before a consultation?
FAQ
Why do doctors use their computers so much?
How much time does a doctor spend in front of their computer?
Does the computer degrade the doctor-patient relationship?
How can we reduce doctors' IT time?
Can artificial intelligence reduce the time spent in front of the computer?
What information can be collected before a consultation?
FAQ
Why do doctors use their computers so much?
How much time does a doctor spend in front of their computer?
Does the computer degrade the doctor-patient relationship?
How can we reduce doctors' IT time?
Can artificial intelligence reduce the time spent in front of the computer?
What information can be collected before a consultation?
