Primary care during COVID-19 pandemic - a survey to establish clinical needs and lessons learned in infectious respiratory diseases in Spain
Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps and areas of need in health care systems. General practitioners (GPs) play a crucial role in the response to COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases (e.g., influenza). Knowing the current flow of these patients and the real needs...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-10-01
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| Series: | BMC Primary Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-023-02160-z |
| _version_ | 1797557569459322880 |
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| author | Manuel Linares Laura Santos Larregola Pilar Galicia García de Yébenes Joaquín Santos Galilea |
| author_facet | Manuel Linares Laura Santos Larregola Pilar Galicia García de Yébenes Joaquín Santos Galilea |
| author_sort | Manuel Linares |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps and areas of need in health care systems. General practitioners (GPs) play a crucial role in the response to COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases (e.g., influenza). Knowing the current flow of these patients and the real needs of GPs is necessary to implement new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies. We sought to learn about the flow of COVID-19 and flu patients in Spanish primary health centers and understand the training needs in both the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. Methods A total of 451 regionally representative GPs completed an online survey between January and February 2022. Results Most of the GPs had available infection containment measures (79%) and access to point-of-care (POC) rapid diagnostic testing (81%) in their centers. The availability of on-the-day diagnostic tests for COVID-19 was higher than that for influenza (80% vs. 20%). Most GPs referred 1 of 10 COVID-19 or flu patients with moderate to severe disease to the emergency department (80% and 90%, respectively). Training/knowledge was considered good regarding diagnostic tests and vaccines (85%) but null or low regarding antivirals (60%) and monoclonal antibodies (80%). Conclusions This survey identified the conditions of Spanish GPs in terms of the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 and flu patients. Respondents’ comments suggested that quite radical system-level adjustments are needed to allow GPs to capitalize on the potential benefits of POC tests for diagnosis, reduction of referrals, and monitoring of these diseases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:18:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e91c1d5039764010b634f13798e859a6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2731-4553 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:18:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Primary Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-e91c1d5039764010b634f13798e859a62023-11-20T10:26:04ZengBMCBMC Primary Care2731-45532023-10-012411910.1186/s12875-023-02160-zPrimary care during COVID-19 pandemic - a survey to establish clinical needs and lessons learned in infectious respiratory diseases in SpainManuel Linares0Laura Santos Larregola1Pilar Galicia García de Yébenes2Joaquín Santos Galilea3Fundación iOFundación iOCentro de Salud Buenos AiresFundación iOAbstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps and areas of need in health care systems. General practitioners (GPs) play a crucial role in the response to COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases (e.g., influenza). Knowing the current flow of these patients and the real needs of GPs is necessary to implement new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies. We sought to learn about the flow of COVID-19 and flu patients in Spanish primary health centers and understand the training needs in both the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. Methods A total of 451 regionally representative GPs completed an online survey between January and February 2022. Results Most of the GPs had available infection containment measures (79%) and access to point-of-care (POC) rapid diagnostic testing (81%) in their centers. The availability of on-the-day diagnostic tests for COVID-19 was higher than that for influenza (80% vs. 20%). Most GPs referred 1 of 10 COVID-19 or flu patients with moderate to severe disease to the emergency department (80% and 90%, respectively). Training/knowledge was considered good regarding diagnostic tests and vaccines (85%) but null or low regarding antivirals (60%) and monoclonal antibodies (80%). Conclusions This survey identified the conditions of Spanish GPs in terms of the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 and flu patients. Respondents’ comments suggested that quite radical system-level adjustments are needed to allow GPs to capitalize on the potential benefits of POC tests for diagnosis, reduction of referrals, and monitoring of these diseases.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-023-02160-zManagementPrimary carePatient flowCOVIDFlu |
| spellingShingle | Manuel Linares Laura Santos Larregola Pilar Galicia García de Yébenes Joaquín Santos Galilea Primary care during COVID-19 pandemic - a survey to establish clinical needs and lessons learned in infectious respiratory diseases in Spain BMC Primary Care Management Primary care Patient flow COVID Flu |
| title | Primary care during COVID-19 pandemic - a survey to establish clinical needs and lessons learned in infectious respiratory diseases in Spain |
| title_full | Primary care during COVID-19 pandemic - a survey to establish clinical needs and lessons learned in infectious respiratory diseases in Spain |
| title_fullStr | Primary care during COVID-19 pandemic - a survey to establish clinical needs and lessons learned in infectious respiratory diseases in Spain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Primary care during COVID-19 pandemic - a survey to establish clinical needs and lessons learned in infectious respiratory diseases in Spain |
| title_short | Primary care during COVID-19 pandemic - a survey to establish clinical needs and lessons learned in infectious respiratory diseases in Spain |
| title_sort | primary care during covid 19 pandemic a survey to establish clinical needs and lessons learned in infectious respiratory diseases in spain |
| topic | Management Primary care Patient flow COVID Flu |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-023-02160-z |
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