Academic general practice/family medicine in times of COVID-19 – Perspective of WONCA Europe
COVID-19 outbreak has significantly changed all aspects of general practice in Europe. This article focuses on the academic challenges for the discipline, mainly in the field of education, research, and quality assurance. The efforts of the European Region of the World Organisation of National Colle...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2020-12-01
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| Series: | European Journal of General Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13814788.2020.1855136 |
| _version_ | 1818960426636935168 |
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| author | Adam Windak Thomas Frese Eva Hummers Zalika Klemenc Ketis Sonia Tsukagoshi Josep Vilaseca Shlomo Vinker Mehmet Ungan |
| author_facet | Adam Windak Thomas Frese Eva Hummers Zalika Klemenc Ketis Sonia Tsukagoshi Josep Vilaseca Shlomo Vinker Mehmet Ungan |
| author_sort | Adam Windak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | COVID-19 outbreak has significantly changed all aspects of general practice in Europe. This article focuses on the academic challenges for the discipline, mainly in the field of education, research, and quality assurance. The efforts of the European Region of the World Organisation of National Colleges, Academies, and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA Europe) to support academic sustainability of the discipline in the time of pandemic are presented. Medical education was affected by the pandemic, threatening both its productivity and quality. Emerging new educational methods might be promising, but the results of their rapid implementation remain uncertain. A relatively small number of publications related to COVID-19 and general practice is available in the medical literature. There is a shortage of original data from general practice settings. This contrasts with the crucial role of GPs in fighting a pandemic. COVID-19 outbreak has opened widely new research areas, which should be explored by GPs. Maintaining the quality of care and safety of all patients during the COVID-19 pandemic is the utmost priority. Many of them suffer from poor access or inadequate management of their problems. Rapid implementation of telemedicine brought both threats and opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic also challenged doctors’ safety and well-being. These aspects will require discussion and remedy to prevent deterioration of the quality of primary care. WONCA Europe is making a multi-faceted effort to support GPs in difficult times of the pandemic. It is ready to support future efforts to uphold the integrity of family medicine as an academic discipline. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T11:57:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9d00c8539345406aa4d5c64d8c350a5e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1381-4788 1751-1402 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T11:57:21Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of General Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-9d00c8539345406aa4d5c64d8c350a5e2022-12-21T19:41:36ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEuropean Journal of General Practice1381-47881751-14022020-12-0126118218810.1080/13814788.2020.18551361855136Academic general practice/family medicine in times of COVID-19 – Perspective of WONCA EuropeAdam Windak0Thomas Frese1Eva Hummers2Zalika Klemenc Ketis3Sonia Tsukagoshi4Josep Vilaseca5Shlomo Vinker6Mehmet Ungan7Department of Family Medicine, Jagiellonian UniversityInstitute of General Practice & Family Medicine, Medical Faculty, Martin-Luther-University Halle-WittenbergDepartment of General Practice, Georg-August-Universitat GottingenCommunity Health Centre LjubljanaRoyal College of General PractitionersConsorci d'Atenció Primàrìa Barcelona EsquerraDepartment of Family Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv UniversityDepartment of Family Medicine, Ankara University School of MedicineCOVID-19 outbreak has significantly changed all aspects of general practice in Europe. This article focuses on the academic challenges for the discipline, mainly in the field of education, research, and quality assurance. The efforts of the European Region of the World Organisation of National Colleges, Academies, and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA Europe) to support academic sustainability of the discipline in the time of pandemic are presented. Medical education was affected by the pandemic, threatening both its productivity and quality. Emerging new educational methods might be promising, but the results of their rapid implementation remain uncertain. A relatively small number of publications related to COVID-19 and general practice is available in the medical literature. There is a shortage of original data from general practice settings. This contrasts with the crucial role of GPs in fighting a pandemic. COVID-19 outbreak has opened widely new research areas, which should be explored by GPs. Maintaining the quality of care and safety of all patients during the COVID-19 pandemic is the utmost priority. Many of them suffer from poor access or inadequate management of their problems. Rapid implementation of telemedicine brought both threats and opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic also challenged doctors’ safety and well-being. These aspects will require discussion and remedy to prevent deterioration of the quality of primary care. WONCA Europe is making a multi-faceted effort to support GPs in difficult times of the pandemic. It is ready to support future efforts to uphold the integrity of family medicine as an academic discipline.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13814788.2020.1855136infectious diseasesquality of carepublic health and community medicinehealth care organisation and managementmedical education |
| spellingShingle | Adam Windak Thomas Frese Eva Hummers Zalika Klemenc Ketis Sonia Tsukagoshi Josep Vilaseca Shlomo Vinker Mehmet Ungan Academic general practice/family medicine in times of COVID-19 – Perspective of WONCA Europe European Journal of General Practice infectious diseases quality of care public health and community medicine health care organisation and management medical education |
| title | Academic general practice/family medicine in times of COVID-19 – Perspective of WONCA Europe |
| title_full | Academic general practice/family medicine in times of COVID-19 – Perspective of WONCA Europe |
| title_fullStr | Academic general practice/family medicine in times of COVID-19 – Perspective of WONCA Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Academic general practice/family medicine in times of COVID-19 – Perspective of WONCA Europe |
| title_short | Academic general practice/family medicine in times of COVID-19 – Perspective of WONCA Europe |
| title_sort | academic general practice family medicine in times of covid 19 perspective of wonca europe |
| topic | infectious diseases quality of care public health and community medicine health care organisation and management medical education |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13814788.2020.1855136 |
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