Prevalence and associations of general practice nurses’ involvement in consultations of general practitioner registrars: a cross-sectional analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Allison Turnock ◽  
Simon Morgan ◽  
Kim Henderson ◽  
Amanda Tapley ◽  
Mieke van Driel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
General Practitioner ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Chronic Disease Care ◽  
Practice Nurses ◽  
Australian General Practice ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Sectional Analysis

Objective To establish prevalence and associations of general practice nurses’ (GPNs) involvement in general practitioner (GP) registrars’ consultations. Methods A cross-sectional analysis from an ongoing cohort study of registrars’ clinical consultations in five Australian states. Registrars recorded detailed data from 60 consecutive consultations per 6-month training term. Problems and diagnoses encountered, including chronic disease classification, were coded using the International Classification of Primary Care, second edition duplication system (ICPC-2plus) classification system. The outcome factor in our analysis was GPN involvement in management of individual problems and diagnoses. Independent variables were a range of patient, registrar, practice, consultation and educational factors. Results We analysed 108759 consultations of 856 registrars including 169307 problems or diagnoses. Of the problems/diagnoses, 5.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.0–5.2) involved a GPN. Follow-up with a GPN was organised for 1.5% (95% CI 1.4–1.5) of all problems/diagnoses. Significant associations of GPN involvement included patient age, male sex, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status, non-English-speaking background (NESB) and the patient being new to the practice. Larger practice size, the particular training organisation, and the problem/diagnosis being new and not a chronic disease were other associations. Conclusions Associations with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status and NESB status suggest GPNs are addressing healthcare needs of these under-serviced groups. But GPNs may be underutilised in chronic disease care. What is known about this topic? GPNs are increasingly involved in team-based care in Australian general practice. The potential positive contribution of GPNs to general practice teams is acknowledged, but the role of the GPN is still being refined. What does this paper add? GPNs contribute to the care of a modest proportion of patients seen by GP registrars. Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status and NESB of patients are positively associated with being seen by a GPN; chronic disease is negatively associated with being seen by a GPN. There is geographic variability in prevalence of GPN consultations, not explained by other factors. What are the implications for practitioners? Given the match of GPN skills and attributes to the needs of patients with chronic diseases, GPNs currently may be underutilised in chronic disease care in Australian general practice. The marked geographic variation in uptake of GPNs also suggests scope for greater utilisation of GPNs Australia-wide.

Nurse - patient encounters in general practice: patterns in general practitioner involvement and use of nurse-specific Medicare items

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine M. Joyce ◽  
Leon Piterman
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
General Practitioner ◽  
Clinical Work ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Practice Nurses ◽  
Australian General Practice ◽  
Data Collections ◽  
Medical Examinations

A significant gap exists in knowledge about general practice nurses’ (GPNs) patient care activities, despite their now strong presence in Australian general practice. The aim of this paper is to explore the extent of direct general practitioner (GP) involvement in nurse–patient consultations, and to compare consultations where nurse-specific Medicare items were claimable with consultations where they were not. Data from the Practice Nurse Work Survey, a national cross-sectional survey conducted between May 2007 and May 2008, were analysed. Of the total 5253 nurse–patient encounters, 29% did not involve any contact between the patient and a GP, either directly before, during or directly after the nurse consultation. Encounters without GP involvement were more likely to be indirect (e.g. by telephone) and off-site (e.g. home visits), and had higher rates of administrative actions such as documentation and arranging visits. Nurse-specific Medicare item numbers applied in less than half (42%) of nurse–patient encounters. Encounters where no such item applied were more likely to involve medical examinations, blood tests, electrical tracings, physical function tests, removal of sutures, test results, assisting at operations and preparing for procedures. These results confirm that existing data collections do not capture the extent and nature of GPNs’ clinical work.

Outcomes and opportunities: a nurse-led model of chronic disease management in Australian general practice

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diann S. Eley ◽  
Elizabeth Patterson ◽  
Jacqui Young ◽  
Paul P. Fahey ◽  
Chris B. Del Mar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Disease Management ◽  
Chronic Disease Management ◽  
Models Of Care ◽  
Practice Nurses ◽  
Australian General Practice ◽  
General Practices

The Australian government’s commitment to health service reform has placed general practice at the centre of its agenda to manage chronic disease. Concerns about the capacity of GPs to meet the growing chronic disease burden has stimulated the implementation and testing of new models of care that better utilise practice nurses (PN). This paper reports on a mixed-methods study nested within a larger study that trialled the feasibility and acceptability of a new model of nurse-led chronic disease management in three general practices. Patients over 18 years of age with type 2 diabetes, hypertension or stable ischaemic heart disease were randomised into PN-led or usual GP-led care. Primary outcomes were self-reported quality of life and perceptions of the model’s feasibility and acceptability from the perspective of patients and GPs. Over the 12-month study quality of life decreased but the trend between groups was not statistically different. Qualitative data indicate that the PN-led model was acceptable and feasible to GPs and patients. It is possible to extend the scope of PN care to lead the routine clinical management of patients’ stable chronic diseases. All GPs identified significant advantages to the model and elected to continue with the PN-led care after our study concluded.

scholarly journals Responses to clinical uncertainty in Australian general practice trainees: a cross-sectional analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (12) ◽  
pp. 1277-1288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georga Cooke ◽  
Amanda Tapley ◽  
Elizabeth Holliday ◽  
Simon Morgan ◽  
Kim Henderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Clinical Uncertainty ◽  
Cross Sectional Analysis ◽  
Australian General Practice ◽  
Sectional Analysis

scholarly journals Australian general practice trainees’ exposure to ophthalmic problems and implications for training: a cross-sectional analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Morgan ◽  
Amanda Tapley ◽  
Kim M Henderson ◽  
Neil A Spike ◽  
Lawrie A McArthur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Training Methods ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cross Sectional Analysis ◽  
Australian General Practice ◽  
Simple Logistic ◽  
Sectional Analysis

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Eye conditions are common presentations in Australian general practice, with the potential for serious sequelae. Pre-vocational ophthalmology training for General Practitioner (GP) trainees is limited. AIM To describe the rate, nature and associations of ophthalmic problems managed by Australian GP trainees, and derive implications for education and training. METHODS Cross-sectional analysis from an ongoing cohort study of GP trainees’ clinical consultations. Trainees recorded demographic, clinical and educational details of consecutive patient consultations. Descriptive analyses report trainee, patient and practice demographics. Proportions of all problems managed in these consultations that were ophthalmology-related were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Associations were tested using simple logistic regression within the generalised estimating equations (GEE) framework. RESULTS In total, 884 trainees returned data on 184,476 individual problems or diagnoses from 118,541 encounters. There were 2649 ophthalmology-related problems, equating to 1.4% (95% CI: 1.38–1.49) of all problems managed. The most common eye presentations were conjunctivitis (32.5% of total problems), eyelid problems (14.9%), foreign body (5.3%) and dry eye (4.7%). Statistically significant associations were male trainee; male patient and patient aged 14 years or under; the problem being new and the patient being new to both trainee and practice; urban and of higher socioeconomic status practice location; the practice nurse not being involved; planned follow up not arranged; referral made; in-consultation information sought; and learning goals generated. DISCUSSION Trainees have comparable ophthalmology exposure to established GPs. However, associations with referral and information-seeking suggest GP trainees find ophthalmic problems challenging, reinforcing the critical importance of appropriate training.

scholarly journals Pathology test-ordering behaviour of Australian general practice trainees: a cross-sectional analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 528-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Morgan ◽  
Kim M. Henderson ◽  
Amanda Tapley ◽  
John Scott ◽  
Mieke L. Van Driel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cross Sectional Analysis ◽  
Australian General Practice ◽  
Sectional Analysis ◽  
Test Ordering

Knowing our patients: a cross-sectional study of adult patients attending an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare service

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah A. Askew ◽  
Warren J. Jennings ◽  
Noel E. Hayman ◽  
Philip J. Schluter ◽  
Geoffrey K. Spurling
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Electronic Health Record Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Torres Strait

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live in urban areas, but epidemiological data about their health status and health needs are lacking. This knowledge is critical to informing and evaluating initiatives to improve service delivery and health outcomes. One potential data source is de-identified routinely collected clinical data. This cross-sectional study, conducted in an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare service, involved randomly selecting a sample of 400 patients aged ≥15 years, and manually extracting electronic health record data. In the sample, 49% of patients were aged <35 years, 56% were female and 38% were employed. Overall, 56% of females and 47% of males aged 35–54 years had depression, 26% had experienced a bereavement within the last 12 months, and while 44% were alcohol abstainers, 35% were drinking at high-risk levels. The present study cannot demonstrate causal relationships between the observed high rates of chronic disease in older people and frequent experiences of bereavement and high levels of mental ill health in young- and middle-aged adults. However, a life course approach provides a framework to understand the interconnectedness of these results, and suggests that strategies to blunt the intergenerational burden of chronic disease need to address the social and emotional wellbeing of youth.

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