>>My VA MD is on a 5 day week and an 8 hour day. Unlike my former primary MD, he never runs in to see me out of breath after rushing from an emergency at the hospital.
>>He always sees me at the appointed time and never has to rush me out to meet some other unanticipated pressing need.
>>Why is that bad?

As long as you're content that the number of physician hours and therefore appointment slots now are independent of patient load or your perceived urgency, it's fabulous. Even better is when the physician starts taking an afternoon per week for CME (Continuing Medical Education) and then the quarterly week-long conferences to be sure to keep up with the latest medical advances. Great news for quality of care that physicians are so diligent about staying current.