Impact of primary care physicians working part-time on patient care: A scoping review.

Abstract

Background: Increasing numbers of primary care physicians (PCPs) are reducing their working hours. This decline may affect the workforce and the care provided to patients.

Objectives: This scoping review aims to determine the impact of PCPs working part-time on quality of patient care.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted using the databases PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Peer-reviewed, original articles with either quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods designs, published after 2000 and written in any language were considered. The search strings combined the two concepts: part-time work and primary care. Studies were included if they examined any effect of PCPs working part-time on quality of patient care.

Results: The initial search resulted in 2,323 unique studies. Abstracts were screened, and information from full texts on the study design, part-time and quality of patient care was extracted. The final dataset included 14 studies utilising data from 1996 onward. The studies suggest that PCPs working part-time may negatively affect patient care, particularly the access and continuity of care domains. Clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction seem mostly unaffected or even improved.

Conclusion: There is evidence of both negative and positive effects of PCPs working part-time on quality of patient care. Approaches that mitigate negative effects of part-time work while maintaining positive effects should be implemented.