Modifying dietitians' use of patient time

A study of 57 patients (36 adults, 21 pediatric patients) scheduled for dietary follow-up as part of their routine diabetes care randomly assigned the patients to a 24-hour recall group, a dietary interest inventory group, and a control group. It was found that the 24-hour recall group patients spent less assessment time (13 minutes vs. 21-22 minutes for the inventory and control groups) without an increase in instructional time (10 to 12 minutes for all 3 groups). The study results indicate that clinicians may benefit by taking advantage of time savings in patient interactions that can be accomplished through the use of support systems. (wz)