| Literature DB >> 31891635 |
Yael Rachamin1, Rahel Meier1, Thomas Grischott1, Thomas Rosemann1, Stefan Markun1.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Research on individual general practitioner (GP) workload, e.g. in terms of consultation counts, is scarce. Accurate measures are desirable because GPs' consultation counts might be related to their work satisfaction and arguably, there is a limit to the number of consultations a GP can hold per day without jeopardizing quality of care. Moreover, understanding the association of consultation counts with GP characteristics is crucial given current trends in general practice, such as the increasing proportion of female GPs, part-time work and group practices. AIM: The aim of this study was to describe GPs' consultation counts and efficiency and to assess associations with GP and practice variables.Entities:
Mesh:
Year: 2019 PMID: 31891635 PMCID: PMC6938322 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227280
Source DB: PubMed Journal: PLoS One ISSN: 1932-6203 Impact factor: 3.240
Fig 1Flowchart.
GPs (total n = 245).
| Part-time status | Full-time | 90% | 80% | 70% | 60% | 50% | 40% | 30% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of GPs | 68 | 15 | 50 | 22 | 30 | 40 | 15 | 5 |
| Female, % | 12% | 0% | 24% | 41% | 60% | 75% | 80% | 80% |
| GP age groups, % | ||||||||
| 30–39 years | 4% | 13% | 14% | 14% | 23% | 20% | 20% | 0% |
| 40–49 years | 28% | 20% | 34% | 36% | 40% | 32% | 53% | 20% |
| 50–59 years | 43% | 27% | 38% | 27% | 23% | 30% | 20% | 40% |
| 60–69 years | 25% | 40% | 14% | 23% | 13% | 18% | 7% | 40% |
| Self-employed, % | 84% | 67% | 64% | 41% | 50% | 25% | 47% | 60% |
| In group practice, % | 63% | 87% | 96% | 95% | 97% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Urban location, % | 65% | 73% | 78% | 86% | 73% | 85% | 80% | 80% |
| Consultation patient characteristics, median (IQR) | ||||||||
| … percent female patients | 50% (48%-53%) | 50% (47%-52%) | 51% (49%-54%) | 51% (48%-56%) | 54% (51%-64%) | 60% (56%-69%) | 59% (52%-64%) | 66% (63%-72%) |
| … median age of patients | 61 (56–64) | 63 (54–64) | 57 (51–63) | 60 (55–65) | 56 (48–66) | 54 (48–59) | 49 (45–58) | 53 (49–62) |
| Proportion of workdays worked, median (IQR) | 93% (87%-98%) | 99% (85%-100%) | 92% (81%-98%) | 88% (76%-98%) | 86% (73%-96%) | 80% (66%-92%) | 62% (56%-79%) | 75% (71%-87%) |
| Number of individual patients per year, median (IQR) | 1442 (1168–1764) | 1427 (1042–1800) | 1243 (992–1597) | 1088 (828–1401) | 980 (795–1263) | 826 (656–952) | 685 (556–817) | 646 (612–655) |
Fig 2Mean daily consultation counts.
Boxplots of the GPs’ mean daily consultation counts, stratified by part-time status (n = 245 GPs). Widths of boxes are proportional to the square roots of the numbers of GPs in the part-time strata and median values are rounded to whole numbers.
Fig 3Relative efficiencies.
Boxplots of relative efficiencies stratified by part-time status (n = 245 GPs). Widths of boxes are proportional to the square roots of the numbers of GPs in the part-time strata. The dashed line represents the reference value (efficiency of full-time workers).
Crude analyses of total consultation counts.
| Variable | Change in consultation count (n) | 95% CI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part-time status | |||
| | |||
| 90% | -331 | -1232 to 570 | 0.471 |
| 80% | -944 | -1537 to -351 | 0.002 |
| 70% | -1516 | -2284 to -749 | <0.001 |
| 60% | -2432 | -3066 to -1797 | <0.001 |
| 50% | -3651 | -4264 to -3038 | <0.001 |
| 40% | -4247 | -5063 to -3431 | <0.001 |
| 30% | -4647 | -5873 to -3420 | <0.001 |
| GP gender | |||
| | |||
| Female | -1873 | -2347 to -1399 | <0.001 |
| GP age group | |||
| | |||
| 30–39 years | -879 | -1761 to 3 | 0.051 |
| 40–49 years | -601 | -1288 to 86 | 0.087 |
| 60–69 years | -632 | -1465 to 201 | 0.137 |
| Employment status | |||
| | |||
| Employed | -1265 | -2050 to -480 | 0.002 |
| Practice type | |||
| | |||
| Single practice | 1947 | 936 to 2958 | <0.001 |
| Urbanity | |||
| | |||
| Non-urban | 946 | -9 to 1902 | 0.052 |
| Cons. patient characteristics | |||
| | |||
| % female | -95 | -122 to -68 | <0.001 |
| Cons. patient characteristics | |||
| | |||
| median age | 73 | 43 to 102 | <0.001 |
Abbreviations: ref. = reference; cons. = consultation; CI = confidence interval
* For continuous predictor variables, coefficients represent the change in consultation count per one unit change.
Multivariable analyses of total consultation counts.
| without part-time status | including part-time status | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | Change in consultation count (n) | 95% CI | Change in consultation count (n) | 95% CI | ||
| Part-time status | ||||||
| 90% | - | - | - | -87 | -1129 to 954 | 0.869 |
| 80% | - | - | - | -690 | -1362 to -18 | 0.044 |
| 70% | - | - | - | -1249 | -2138 to -360 | 0.006 |
| 60% | - | - | - | -2227 | -3011 to -1444 | <0.001 |
| 50% | - | - | - | -3127 | -3990 to -2263 | <0.001 |
| 40% | - | - | - | -3591 | -4678 to -2504 | <0.001 |
| 30% | - | - | - | -4118 | -5554 to -2681 | <0.001 |
| GP gender | -1194 | -2016 to -373 | 0.004 | -162 | -879 to 555 | 0.658 |
| GP age group | ||||||
| 30–39 years | -206 | -1118 to 706 | 0.658 | -308 | -1072 to 455 | 0.428 |
| 40–49 years | -229 | -896 to 438 | 0.501 | -14 | -586 to 558 | 0.961 |
| 60–69 years | -879 | -1640 to -119 | 0.023 | -716 | -1371 to -61 | 0.032 |
| Employment status (ref. self-employed) | -594 | -1349 to 161 | 0.123 | -200 | -863 to 463 | 0.554 |
| Practice type | 1128 | 111 to 2144 | 0.030 | 350 | -622 to 1322 | 0.480 |
| Urbanity | 327 | -582 to 1235 | 0.481 | 404 | -437 to 1245 | 0.346 |
| Cons. patient characteristics | ||||||
| % female | -40 | -83 to 4 | 0.075 | -4 | -42 to 34 | 0.826 |
| median age | 39 | 7 to 70 | 0.015 | 27 | 0 to 54 | 0.049 |
Abbreviations: ref. = reference; cons. = consultation; CI = confidence interval
* For continuous predictor variables, coefficients represent the change in consultation count per one unit change.