COVID-19 Continues to Burden General Practitioners: Impact on Workload, Provision of Care, and Intention to Leave
General practitioners (GPs), already in a profession with a high workload, have been at the frontline of providing COVID-19-related healthcare in addition to routine care. Our study examined the impact of pandemic-related consultations and changes in practice organization on GPs’ current workload an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/3/320 |
| _version_ | 1797624557274660864 |
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| author | Anne Schrimpf Markus Bleckwenn Annett Braesigk |
| author_facet | Anne Schrimpf Markus Bleckwenn Annett Braesigk |
| author_sort | Anne Schrimpf |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | General practitioners (GPs), already in a profession with a high workload, have been at the frontline of providing COVID-19-related healthcare in addition to routine care. Our study examined the impact of pandemic-related consultations and changes in practice organization on GPs’ current workload and provision of healthcare in summer 2021 (May 2021–July 2021) and early 2022 (January 2022–February 2022). In total, 143 German GPs participated in an online survey in the summer of 2021. Of these, 51 GPs participated in the follow-up survey in 2022. Most GPs perceived an increase in consultation frequency, consultation times, and workload since the pandemic outbreak. Increased consultation times were related to the reduced provision of medical care to other patients with chronic diseases. More SARS-CoV-2 vaccination consultations were associated with reduced home visits, acute consultation times, and cancer screenings. A quarter of GPs considered leaving their job. Pandemic-related bureaucracy, restricted access to therapy and rehabilitation services specialized on COVID-19, unreliable vaccine deliveries, mandatory telematics-infrastructure implementation, and frequent changes in official regulations were the main reasons reported for dissatisfaction. Our results provide insights into how the pandemic continues to burden GPs’ work routines and how better working conditions in times of high demand could be achieved in future pandemics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:44:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-971ad75affa74768ae3fd039dcb2bc5c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:44:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-971ad75affa74768ae3fd039dcb2bc5c2023-11-16T16:43:38ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322023-01-0111332010.3390/healthcare11030320COVID-19 Continues to Burden General Practitioners: Impact on Workload, Provision of Care, and Intention to LeaveAnne Schrimpf0Markus Bleckwenn1Annett Braesigk2Department of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Leipzig University, 04109 Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Leipzig University, 04109 Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Leipzig University, 04109 Leipzig, GermanyGeneral practitioners (GPs), already in a profession with a high workload, have been at the frontline of providing COVID-19-related healthcare in addition to routine care. Our study examined the impact of pandemic-related consultations and changes in practice organization on GPs’ current workload and provision of healthcare in summer 2021 (May 2021–July 2021) and early 2022 (January 2022–February 2022). In total, 143 German GPs participated in an online survey in the summer of 2021. Of these, 51 GPs participated in the follow-up survey in 2022. Most GPs perceived an increase in consultation frequency, consultation times, and workload since the pandemic outbreak. Increased consultation times were related to the reduced provision of medical care to other patients with chronic diseases. More SARS-CoV-2 vaccination consultations were associated with reduced home visits, acute consultation times, and cancer screenings. A quarter of GPs considered leaving their job. Pandemic-related bureaucracy, restricted access to therapy and rehabilitation services specialized on COVID-19, unreliable vaccine deliveries, mandatory telematics-infrastructure implementation, and frequent changes in official regulations were the main reasons reported for dissatisfaction. Our results provide insights into how the pandemic continues to burden GPs’ work routines and how better working conditions in times of high demand could be achieved in future pandemics.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/3/320COVID-19primary healthcarepatient carevaccinespreventive health servicesdelivery of healthcare |
| spellingShingle | Anne Schrimpf Markus Bleckwenn Annett Braesigk COVID-19 Continues to Burden General Practitioners: Impact on Workload, Provision of Care, and Intention to Leave Healthcare COVID-19 primary healthcare patient care vaccines preventive health services delivery of healthcare |
| title | COVID-19 Continues to Burden General Practitioners: Impact on Workload, Provision of Care, and Intention to Leave |
| title_full | COVID-19 Continues to Burden General Practitioners: Impact on Workload, Provision of Care, and Intention to Leave |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 Continues to Burden General Practitioners: Impact on Workload, Provision of Care, and Intention to Leave |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 Continues to Burden General Practitioners: Impact on Workload, Provision of Care, and Intention to Leave |
| title_short | COVID-19 Continues to Burden General Practitioners: Impact on Workload, Provision of Care, and Intention to Leave |
| title_sort | covid 19 continues to burden general practitioners impact on workload provision of care and intention to leave |
| topic | COVID-19 primary healthcare patient care vaccines preventive health services delivery of healthcare |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/3/320 |
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