ArticleFamily practice2013
The time-efficiency principle: time as the key diagnostic strategy in primary care.
Article in Family practice, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- What potential cancer symptoms should we consider 'unexplained'?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Article
- The Gatekeeper's Dilemma: Unpacking the Complexity of Low-Value Care in General Practice.Sociology of health & illness · 2025Article
- Performance of Dysmorphology-Based Screening for Genetic Disorders in Pediatric Congenital Heart Disease Supports Wider Genetic Testing.Molecular genetics & genomic medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- "VR is the future": perspectives of healthcare professionals on virtual reality as a diagnostic tool for dementia status in primary care.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2024Article
- Time-efficiency principle applied to an unusual presentation: what is hidden behind a lymphedema?Internal and emergency medicine · 2023Article
- Modeling the Conversation with Digital Health Assistants in Adherence Apps: Some Considerations on the Similarities and Differences with Familiar Medical Encounters.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- A Diagnostic Test Accuracy Study Investigating General Practitioner Clinical Impression and Brief Cognitive Assessments for Dementia in Primary Care, Compared to Specialized Assessment.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2023Article
- Habitual Hyperthermia: An Interpretive Paradigm of the 20th Century? Not Really.International journal of general medicine · 2021Review
- Response: Commentary: Sensitivity, Specificity, and Predictive Values: Foundations, Pliabilities, and Pitfalls in Research and Practice.Frontiers in public health · 2019Article
- Solving the Diagnostic Challenge: A Patient-Centered Approach.Annals of family medicine · 2018Review
- Association of Clinician Denial of Patient Requests With Patient Satisfaction.JAMA internal medicine · 2018Article
- After Achilles.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2016Article
- Diagnosing headache in primary care: a qualitative study of GPs' approaches.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2014Article
- Measures of promptness of cancer diagnosis in primary care.British journal of cancer · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The test and retest opportunity afforded by reviewing a patient over time substantially increases the total gain in certainty when making a diagnosis in low-prevalence settings (the time-efficiency principle). This approach safely and efficiently reduces the number of patients who need to be formally tested in order to make a correct diagnosis for a person. Time, in terms of observed disease trajectory, provides a vital mechanism for achieving this task. It remains the best strategy for delivering near-optimal diagnoses in low-prevalence settings and should be used to its full advantage.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.