According to one study, your chances of being prescribed a medical examination to check for cancer depend greatly on the time of day you make an appointment with your doctor. We’ll tell you right away: it is better to avoid afternoon appointments according to this study!
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More exams in the morning
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have carried out a surprising study. The scientists analysed the percentage of examinations to detect cancer prescribed for a patient eligible for this test. And the results are clear: at 8 a.m., 64% of patients eligible for a breast cancer test were prescribed it.
At 5 p.m., the same doctors prescribed these examinations to 48% of the patients eligible for this type of examination. The same type of results for colon cancer can be found in the study: at 8 a.m., 37% of eligible patients are prescribed this test by their general practitioner, the figure drops to 23% at 5 p.m.
Why such a decrease?
The decrease could be related to fatigue; a mental burn-out would make it more difficult for doctors to make decisions, explains the study published in JAMA Network Open. This decrease in prescriptions could also be explained by the delay between each appointment by doctors, the researchers say.
The last possibility proposed that the decrease in prescriptions could be explained by the patients themselves, who ‘see their GP late and want to leave early, and decline to discuss an examination that can detect cancer.’ So get up early for your next appointment with your GP!
