Mackenzie M M Heidel, Adam Clay, Megan Dash, Danielle Cutts
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Many patients present to their family medicine clinic with more than one health concern, placing an increased demand on family physicians. Research into the average number of concerns per regular family medicine visit is limited. Recognition of the frequency that family physicians address more than one concern per visit and adapting practices accordingly is important for improving patient care.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether family physicians routinely address multiple different patient concerns during a single visit and if this is influenced by patient demographics.
METHODS
This study was conducted at a multi-physician family medicine clinic in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Five physicians contributed their 500 most recent charts, extending retrospectively from 1 June 2023, from in-person visits by patients over 18 years of age and billed as regular appointments without billed procedures. Each chart was reviewed for the number of concerns addressed in the visit.
RESULTS
Fifty percent of visits addressed more than 1 concern (range = 1-8). A generalized linear mixed model using Poisson distribution showed certain physicians (incident rate ratio [IRR]: 1.192, 95% CI: 1.087-1.307, P < 0.001) and adults older than 65 years compared to adults less than 40 years (IRR 1.151, 95% CI: 1.069-1.239, P < 0.001) were more likely to present with multiple concerns, but patient sex was not a significant predictor.
CONCLUSIONS
Family physicians routinely address more than one concern per visit. Standard visit length and billing practices should be adapted to reflect this complexity.
揭开 "标准 "家庭诊所就诊的真实复杂性:里贾纳观察性横断面研究》(The true complexities of "standard" family practice visits unasked: an observational crosssectional study in Regina)。
期刊介绍:
Family Practice is an international journal aimed at practitioners, teachers, and researchers in the fields of family medicine, general practice, and primary care in both developed and developing countries.
Family Practice offers its readership an international view of the problems and preoccupations in the field, while providing a medium of instruction and exploration.
The journal''s range and content covers such areas as health care delivery, epidemiology, public health, and clinical case studies. The journal aims to be interdisciplinary and contributions from other disciplines of medicine and social science are always welcomed.