• Ilgin G Arslan, Vincent M I Voorbrood, Saskia A G Stitzinger, Maarten-Paul van de Kerkhove, Rianne M Rozendaal, Marienke van Middelkoop, BindelsPatrick J EPJEDepartment of General Practice, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam, 3000 CA, The Netherlands., Bierma-ZeinstraSita M ASMADepartment of General Practice, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam, 3000 CA, The Netherlands.Department of Orthopaedics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands., and Dieuwke Schiphof.
• Department of General Practice, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, Rotterdam, 3000 CA, The Netherlands. i.arslan@erasmusmc.nl.
• Bmc Fam Pract. 2021 Jun 24; 22 (1): 131.

BackgroundTo evaluate intermediate care for knee and hip osteoarthritis (KHOA) in the general practice that incorporate specialist services into general practice to prevent unnecessary referrals to hospitals.MethodsWe used a mixed methods approach including semi-structured interviews, patient experience questionnaires and data from medical records from three intermediate care projects. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients, general practitioners (GPs), orthopaedists and a healthcare manager in intermediate care. Satisfaction of patients who received intermediate care (n = 100) was collected using questionnaires. Referral data and healthcare consumption from medical records were collected retrospectively from KHOA patients before (n = 96) and after (n = 208) the implementation of intermediate care.ResultsGPs and orthopaedists in intermediate care experienced more intensive collaboration compared to regular care. This led to a perceived increase in GPs' knowledge enabling better selection of referrals to orthopaedics and less healthcare consumption. Orthopaedists felt a higher workload and limited access to diagnostic facilities. Patients were satisfied and experienced better access to specialists' knowledge in a trusted environment compared to regular care. Referrals to physiotherapy increased significantly after the implementation of intermediate care (absolute difference = 15%; 95% CI = 7.19 to 22.8), but not significantly to orthopaedics (absolute difference = 5.9%; 95% CI = -6.18 to 17.9).ConclusionsOrthopaedists and GPs perceived the benefits of an intensified collaboration in intermediate care. Intermediate care may contribute to high quality of care through more physiotherapy referrals. Further research with longer follow-up is needed to confirm these findings and give more insight in referrals and healthcare consumption.

12 keywords...

hide…