OBJECTIVES: To explore general practitioners' views on chronic-disease care: the difficulties and rewards, the needs of patients, the impact of government incentive payments, and the changes needed to improve chronic-disease management. DESIGN: Qualitative study, involving semi-structured questions administered to 10 focus groups of GPs, conducted from April to October 2002. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 54 GPs from both urban and rural practices in New South Wales and South Australia. RESULTS: Consistent themes emerged about the complex nature of chronic-disease management, the tension between patients' and GPs' goals for care, the time-consuming aspects of care (exacerbated by federal government requirements), and the conflicting pressures that prevent GPs engaging in structured multidisciplinary care (ie, team-based care involving systems for patient monitoring, recall, and care planning). CONCLUSIONS: Structured multidisciplinary care for people with chronic conditions can be difficult to provide. Barriers include the lack of fit between systems oriented towards acute care and the requirements of chronic-disease care, and between bureaucratic, inflexible structures and the complex, dynamic nature of GP-patient relationships. These problems are exacerbated by administrative pressures associated with federal government initiatives to improve chronic-illness management. Changes are needed in both policies and attitudes to enable GPs to move from episodic care to providing structured long-term care as part of a multidisciplinary team.
OBJECTIVES: To explore general practitioners' views on chronic-disease care: the difficulties and rewards, the needs of patients, the impact of government incentive payments, and the changes needed to improve chronic-disease management. DESIGN: Qualitative study, involving semi-structured questions administered to 10 focus groups of GPs, conducted from April to October 2002. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 54 GPs from both urban and rural practices in New South Wales and South Australia. RESULTS: Consistent themes emerged about the complex nature of chronic-disease management, the tension between patients' and GPs' goals for care, the time-consuming aspects of care (exacerbated by federal government requirements), and the conflicting pressures that prevent GPs engaging in structured multidisciplinary care (ie, team-based care involving systems for patient monitoring, recall, and care planning). CONCLUSIONS: Structured multidisciplinary care for people with chronic conditions can be difficult to provide. Barriers include the lack of fit between systems oriented towards acute care and the requirements of chronic-disease care, and between bureaucratic, inflexible structures and the complex, dynamic nature of GP-patient relationships. These problems are exacerbated by administrative pressures associated with federal government initiatives to improve chronic-illness management. Changes are needed in both policies and attitudes to enable GPs to move from episodic care to providing structured long-term care as part of a multidisciplinary team.
Authors: Lesley A King; Julika H M Loss; Rachel L Wilkenfeld; Deanna L Pagnini; Michael L Booth; Susan L Booth Journal: Br J Gen Pract Date: 2007-02 Impact factor: 5.386
Authors: Laurann Yen; James Gillespie; Yun-Hee Jeon; Marjan Kljakovic; Jo Anne Brien; Stephen Jan; Elin Lehnbom; Carmen Pearce-Brown; Tim Usherwood Journal: Health Expect Date: 2011-03 Impact factor: 3.377
Authors: Christy E Newman; Asha Persson; John B F de Wit; Robert H Reynolds; Peter G Canavan; Susan C Kippax; Michael R Kidd Journal: BMC Fam Pract Date: 2013-03-21 Impact factor: 2.497