Time work: An analysis of temporal experiences and agentic practices in the good doctor-patient relationship in general practice

This article contributes to social health research by presenting an analysis of the temporal dimensions of the good doctor-patient relationship as perceived and enacted by patients and general practitioners (GPs). The empirical data derive from ethnographic fieldwork comprising participant observation in four general practice clinics in Denmark, and semi-structured interviews with 27 patients and eight GPs. The analysis draws from Michael Flaherty's sociology of time: notions of temporal agency and time work are used as analytical tools to demonstrate that the good doctor-patient relationship is constructed in a tension between external temporal structures and internal temporal experiences that are the result of GPs' and patients' agentic practices of doing time. Thus, the findings illustrate how temporal determinism and self-determinism are equally interwoven when GPs and patients talk about, enact and seek meaningful temporal experiences within the doctor-patient relationship, while resisting and avoiding others that undermine the relationship. The results challenge 1. deterministic conceptions of time demands in today's healthcare systems that are said to control healthcare providers' behavior and 2. the taken-for-granted understanding of continuity as a resource in itself.

Automated summary

This article contributes to social health research by analyzing the temporal dimensions of the doctor-patient relationship as perceived and enacted by patients and GPs. The findings illustrate how the relationship is constructed in a tension between external temporal structures and the agentic practices of GPs and patients. The results challenge deterministic conceptions of time demands and the taken-for-granted understanding of continuity as a resource.