The European journal of general practice
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In recent years, the medical literature from a wide range of medical specialities has exploded with publications on the theme of emotional distress, stress and burnout in the practice of medicine. Improving the work-life of health care providers is necessary to optimise health system performance. ⋯ Although there is an ongoing need to monitor these factors among family physicians, and other staff working in primary care across Europe, we must also identify supports and promote them. Further research is needed to explore causative factors and provide convincing evidence in relation to effective interventions.
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Observational Study
Effects of access to radiology in out-of-hours primary care on patient satisfaction and length of stay.
Direct access to hospital radiology facilities by general practitioner (GP) cooperatives is known to decrease the number of emergency department referrals, but the effects on length of stay (LOS; time from patient arrival at GP cooperative till departure to home) and patient experiences are unclear. ⋯ Access to radiology by GP cooperatives seems to reduce the length of stay and is slightly more appreciated by patients. GP cooperatives with unlimited access seem to provide the most efficient and best-valued care, contributing to more patient-centred care.
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Task shifting is an approach to help address the shortage of healthcare workers through reallocating human resources but its impact on primary care is unclear. ⋯ Evidence suggests that allied healthcare workers such as pharmacists and nurses can potentially undertake substantially expanded roles to support physicians in primary care in response to the changing health service demand. Tasks include providing care to patients, independent prescribing, counselling and education, with comparable quality of care.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the rapid reorganisation of health and social care services. Patients are already at significant risk of healthcare-associated harm and the wholesale disruption to service delivery during the pandemic stood to heighten those risks. ⋯ Constraints from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to patient safety incidents during non-COVID-19 care. Lessons from these incidents pinpoint where primary care services in France can focus resources to design safer systems for patients.