Bmc Fam Pract
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Observational Study
Association between general practice characteristics and use of out-of-hours GP cooperatives.
The use of out-of-hours healthcare services for non-urgent health problems is believed to be related to the organisation of daytime primary care but insight into underlying mechanisms is limited. Our objective was to examine the association between daytime general practice characteristics and the use of out-of-hours care GP cooperatives. ⋯ Besides patient population characteristics, organisational characteristics of general practices are associated with lower use of out-of-hours care. Improving accessibility and availability of day time primary day care might be a potential effective way to improve the efficient use of out-of-hours care services.
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Primary care physicians struggle to treat chronic noncancer pain while limiting opioid misuse, abuse, and diversion. The objective of this study was to understand how primary care physicians perceive their decisions to prescribe opioids in the context of chronic noncancer pain management. This question is important because interventions, such as decision support tools, must be designed based on a detailed understanding of how clinicians use information to make care decisions. ⋯ This study identified and described primary care physicians' struggles to deliver high quality care as they seek and make decisions based on an array of incomplete, conflicting, and often untrusted patient information. Decision support systems, education, and other interventions that address these challenges may alleviate primary care physicians' struggles and improve outcomes for patients with chronic pain and other challenging conditions.
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Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are the cornerstone of asthma therapy. The ICS-to-total-asthma-medication ratios, calculated from claims data, indicate potentially risky disease management in asthma. Our aim was to assess the utility of ICS-to-total-asthma-medication ratios from primary care electronic medical records (EMRs) in detecting patients at risk of asthma exacerbation, as approached by prescription of oral corticosteroids and/or antibiotics. ⋯ Patients with high ICS-to-total-asthma-medication ratios presented fewer asthma-related outcomes. The low ICS-to-total-asthma-medication ratio calculated with EMRs data reflects insufficient prescribing of ICS relative to all asthma medications, which may lead to deteriorated asthma control.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Implementing telephone triage in general practice: a process evaluation of a cluster randomised controlled trial.
Telephone triage represents one strategy to manage demand for face-to-face GP appointments in primary care. However, limited evidence exists of the challenges GP practices face in implementing telephone triage. We conducted a qualitative process evaluation alongside a UK-based cluster randomised trial (ESTEEM) which compared the impact of GP-led and nurse-led telephone triage with usual care on primary care workload, cost, patient experience, and safety for patients requesting a same-day GP consultation. The aim of the process study was to provide insights into the observed effects of the ESTEEM trial from the perspectives of staff and patients, and to specify the circumstances under which triage is likely to be successfully implemented. Here we report perspectives of staff. ⋯ The findings from the process evaluation offer insight into the range of ways GP practices participating in ESTEEM implemented telephone triage, and the circumstances under which telephone triage can be successfully implemented beyond the context of a clinical trial. Staff experiences and perceptions of telephone triage are shaped by the way practices communicate with staff, prepare for and sustain the changes required to implement triage effectively, as well as by existing practice culture, and staff and patient behaviour arising in response to the changes made.
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The working relationship between client and therapist can be important to enhance outcomes from vocational rehabilitation for women with stress-related disorders in primary health care. The aim was to investigate the working relationship, as perceived by clients and therapists in the Redesigning Daily Occupations (ReDO™) program, and its relationships to return to work and satisfaction with the rehabilitation. Another aim was to compare the ReDO™ group and a "care-as-usual" (CAU) group regarding perceptions of the working relationship with the social insurance officer. ⋯ The working relationship as perceived by clients and therapists seemed to be partly separate phenomena, the client perceptions being linked with satisfaction with the rehabilitation and the therapist perceptions with the clients' return to work. The relationship to the SIO officers was of no importance to return to work but was of some significance for satisfaction with the rehabilitation among the CAU clients. Therapists should strive to improve the relationship with clients to whom they feel the relationship is fragile since that might enhance the chances for those clients to return to work.