ABSTRACT
As a clinician I was able to enter the relatively hidden world of the exam room to videotape physicians during an entire office visit. I emphasized to patients that I was videotaping the physician and would try to totally exclude them from the video. I must admit to being astonished by the variation in how we individually go about both interacting with a patient and physically carrying out the examination. Even within the confines of a standard exam room, moving back and forth between hand sanitizers, sinks, cabinets, exam tables, countertops, and drawers can increase the time of an office visit by 10%–15%. After participating in the process, it was relatively easy for physicians to come to an agreement on standard exam rooms in both the content and location of items.
