Family physicians’ perspectives on collaboration challenges between primary care and specialist care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: A qualitative study
Background: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada had longer wait-times for specialist appointments compared to other Commonwealth countries. During the pandemic, many specialist services were postponed or suspended, impacting access. The purpose of this study was to explore family physicians’ pers...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | SSM: Qualitative Research in Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321523001221 |
| _version_ | 1827592828389163008 |
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| author | Lauren R. Moritz Richard Buote Madeleine McKay Leslie Meredith Dana Ryan Sarah Spencer Crystal Vaughan Lindsay Hedden Julia Lukewich Maria Mathews Shabnam Asghari Judith Belle Brown Paul S. Gill Eric Wong Emily Gard Marshall |
| author_facet | Lauren R. Moritz Richard Buote Madeleine McKay Leslie Meredith Dana Ryan Sarah Spencer Crystal Vaughan Lindsay Hedden Julia Lukewich Maria Mathews Shabnam Asghari Judith Belle Brown Paul S. Gill Eric Wong Emily Gard Marshall |
| author_sort | Lauren R. Moritz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada had longer wait-times for specialist appointments compared to other Commonwealth countries. During the pandemic, many specialist services were postponed or suspended, impacting access. The purpose of this study was to explore family physicians’ perspectives on specialist care availability during the pandemic and implications for family physician workload and patient management. These experiences can inform future pandemic plans. Methods: Using semi-structured interviews, we explored family physicians’ experiences during COVID-19 across regions within four Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador). Thematic and framework analyses were used to identify themes from the interviews. Results: We interviewed 68 family physicians between October 2020 and June 2021. Of these 68 participants, 27 discussed their interactions with specialists during the pandemic. We identified themes around access to, and collaboration with, specialists. At times, specialists were less available for patient care and family physician consultations, and communications were uncoordinated across the system. Family physicians took on additional work to address the lack of access and identified pandemic planning challenges. Participants offered recommendations for improving collaboration and access post-pandemic. Interpretation: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing challenges in the Canadian healthcare system pertaining to specialist access. Pandemic plans should reflect the importance of specialist consultations. Decision-makers should consider innovations to facilitate collaboration between family physicians and specialists. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:00:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0776556203f54fcf8374ad2c3b8f3a39 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2667-3215 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:00:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SSM: Qualitative Research in Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-0776556203f54fcf8374ad2c3b8f3a392023-12-08T04:47:13ZengElsevierSSM: Qualitative Research in Health2667-32152023-12-014100338Family physicians’ perspectives on collaboration challenges between primary care and specialist care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: A qualitative studyLauren R. Moritz0Richard Buote1Madeleine McKay2Leslie Meredith3Dana Ryan4Sarah Spencer5Crystal Vaughan6Lindsay Hedden7Julia Lukewich8Maria Mathews9Shabnam Asghari10Judith Belle Brown11Paul S. Gill12Eric Wong13Emily Gard Marshall14Primary Care Research Unit, Dalhousie Family Medicine, Dalhousie University, 1465 Brenton Street Suite 402, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 3T4, CanadaPrimary Care Research Unit, Dalhousie Family Medicine, Dalhousie University, 1465 Brenton Street Suite 402, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 3T4, CanadaDoctors Nova Scotia, 25 Spectacle Lake Drive, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B3B 1X7, CanadaDepartment of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 1465 Richmond St., London, ON, N6G 2M1, CanadaDepartment of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 1465 Richmond St., London, ON, N6G 2M1, Canada; Faculty of Nursing, Memorial University, Health Sciences Centre, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, CanadaFaculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, CanadaFaculty of Nursing, Memorial University, Health Sciences Centre, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, CanadaFaculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, CanadaFaculty of Nursing, Memorial University, Health Sciences Centre, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, CanadaDepartment of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 1465 Richmond St., London, ON, N6G 2M1, CanadaCenter for Rural Health Studies, Discipline of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, Health Sciences Centre, Room M5M109, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, CanadaDepartment of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 1465 Richmond St., London, ON, N6G 2M1, CanadaDepartment of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 1465 Richmond St., London, ON, N6G 2M1, CanadaDepartment of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 1465 Richmond St., London, ON, N6G 2M1, CanadaPrimary Care Research Unit, Dalhousie Family Medicine, Dalhousie University, 1465 Brenton Street Suite 402, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 3T4, Canada; Corresponding author.Background: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada had longer wait-times for specialist appointments compared to other Commonwealth countries. During the pandemic, many specialist services were postponed or suspended, impacting access. The purpose of this study was to explore family physicians’ perspectives on specialist care availability during the pandemic and implications for family physician workload and patient management. These experiences can inform future pandemic plans. Methods: Using semi-structured interviews, we explored family physicians’ experiences during COVID-19 across regions within four Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador). Thematic and framework analyses were used to identify themes from the interviews. Results: We interviewed 68 family physicians between October 2020 and June 2021. Of these 68 participants, 27 discussed their interactions with specialists during the pandemic. We identified themes around access to, and collaboration with, specialists. At times, specialists were less available for patient care and family physician consultations, and communications were uncoordinated across the system. Family physicians took on additional work to address the lack of access and identified pandemic planning challenges. Participants offered recommendations for improving collaboration and access post-pandemic. Interpretation: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing challenges in the Canadian healthcare system pertaining to specialist access. Pandemic plans should reflect the importance of specialist consultations. Decision-makers should consider innovations to facilitate collaboration between family physicians and specialists.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321523001221PhysiciansPrimary careCOVID-19ReferralConsultationCollaboration |
| spellingShingle | Lauren R. Moritz Richard Buote Madeleine McKay Leslie Meredith Dana Ryan Sarah Spencer Crystal Vaughan Lindsay Hedden Julia Lukewich Maria Mathews Shabnam Asghari Judith Belle Brown Paul S. Gill Eric Wong Emily Gard Marshall Family physicians’ perspectives on collaboration challenges between primary care and specialist care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: A qualitative study SSM: Qualitative Research in Health Physicians Primary care COVID-19 Referral Consultation Collaboration |
| title | Family physicians’ perspectives on collaboration challenges between primary care and specialist care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: A qualitative study |
| title_full | Family physicians’ perspectives on collaboration challenges between primary care and specialist care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: A qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | Family physicians’ perspectives on collaboration challenges between primary care and specialist care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: A qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Family physicians’ perspectives on collaboration challenges between primary care and specialist care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: A qualitative study |
| title_short | Family physicians’ perspectives on collaboration challenges between primary care and specialist care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: A qualitative study |
| title_sort | family physicians perspectives on collaboration challenges between primary care and specialist care during the covid 19 pandemic in canada a qualitative study |
| topic | Physicians Primary care COVID-19 Referral Consultation Collaboration |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321523001221 |
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