scholarly journals Inter-clinician eConsults without programmatic incentives or requirements: a qualitative study of primary care provider perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Zallman ◽  
Carolyn F Fisher ◽  
Sofia Ladner ◽  
Kira Mengistu ◽  
Alison B Rapaport ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Inter-clinician electronic consultation (eConsult) programmes are becoming more widespread in the USA as health care systems seek innovative ways of improving specialty access. Existing studies examine models with programmatic incentives or requirements for primary care providers (PCPs) to participate. Objective We aimed to examine PCP perspectives on eConsults in a system with no programmatic incentive or requirement for PCPs to use eConsults. Methods We conducted seven focus groups with 41 PCPs at a safety-net community teaching health care system in Eastern Massachusetts, USA. Results Focus groups revealed that eConsults improved PCP experience by enabling patient-centred care and enhanced PCP education. However, increased workload and variations in communication patterns added challenges for PCPs. Patients were perceived as receiving timelier and more convenient care. Timelier care combined with direct documentation in the patient record was perceived as improving patient safety. Although cost implications were less clear, PCPs perceived costs as being lowered through fewer unnecessary visits and laboratories. Conclusions Our findings suggest that eConsult systems with no programmatic incentives or requirements for PCPs have the potential to improve care.

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 33-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Kates

For 20 years mental health and primary care providers across Canada have been working collaboratively together to improve access to care, provider skills, and patient experience. The new strategic plan of the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) offers many opportunities for collaborative care to play a role in the transformation of Canada’s mental health systems. To assist the plan, this paper presents principles underlying successful projects and ways that mental health and primary care services can work together more collaboratively, including integrating mental health providers in primary care. It integrates these concepts into a Canadian Model for Collaborative Mental Health Care that can guide future expansion of these approaches, and suggests ways in which better collaboration can address wider issues facing all of Canada’s health care systems.


1993 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-98
Author(s):  
Bodo B. Schlegelmilch ◽  
James M. Carman

This paper explores attitudes of university students towards two differently organised health services, ie the National Health Service in the UK and the more market oriented system in the US and analyses the level of confidence placed in primary care providers (GPs/family physicians) in both systems. Although major differences in the perception of the two health care systems are identified, hardly any differences emerge between the two countries in terms of the confidence patients place in their primary care providers.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin W. Yan ◽  
Dimah Azzam ◽  
Melanie P. Columbus ◽  
Kristine Van Aarsen ◽  
Selina L. Liu ◽  
...  

Health care systems often provide a range of options of care for patients with illnesses who do not require hospital admission. For individuals with diabetes, these options may include primary care providers, specialized diabetes clinics, and urgent care and walk-in clinics. We explored the reasons why patients choose the Emergency Department over other health care settings when seeking care for hyperglycemia.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin W. Yan ◽  
Dimah Azzam ◽  
Melanie P. Columbus ◽  
Kristine Van Aarsen ◽  
Selina L. Liu ◽  
...  

Health care systems often provide a range of options of care for patients with illnesses who do not require hospital admission. For individuals with diabetes, these options may include primary care providers, specialized diabetes clinics, and urgent care and walk-in clinics. We explored the reasons why patients choose the Emergency Department over other health care settings when seeking care for hyperglycemia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (48) ◽  
pp. 23930-23935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Ruggiero Lo Sardo ◽  
Stefan Thurner ◽  
Johannes Sorger ◽  
Georg Duftschmid ◽  
Gottfried Endel ◽  
...  

There are practically no quantitative tools for understanding how much stress a health care system can absorb before it loses its ability to provide care. We propose to measure the resilience of health care systems with respect to changes in the density of primary care providers. We develop a computational model on a 1-to-1 scale for a countrywide primary care sector based on patient-sharing networks. Nodes represent all primary care providers in a country; links indicate patient flows between them. The removal of providers could cause a cascade of patient displacements, as patients have to find alternative providers. The model is calibrated with nationwide data from Austria that includes almost all primary care contacts over 2 y. We assign 2 properties to every provider: the “CareRank” measures the average number of displacements caused by a provider’s removal (systemic risk) as well as the fraction of patients a provider can absorb when others default (systemic benefit). Below a critical number of providers, large-scale cascades of patient displacements occur, and no more providers can be found in a given region. We quantify regional resilience as the maximum fraction of providers that can be removed before cascading events prevent coverage for all patients within a district. We find considerable regional heterogeneity in the critical transition point from resilient to nonresilient behavior. We demonstrate that health care resilience cannot be quantified by physician density alone but must take into account how networked systems respond and restructure in response to shocks. The approach can identify systemically relevant providers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne D. Bentham ◽  
Anna Ratzliff ◽  
David Harrison ◽  
Ya-Fen Chan ◽  
Steven Vannoy ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Carla Wallimann ◽  
Andreas Balthasar

Growing migration in European countries has simultaneously increased cultural diversity in health care. Migrants’ equal access to health care systems and migrant friendly health care have therefore become relevant topics. Findings gathered in recent years have mainly focussed on the perspective of care providers, whereas this study includes migrant perspectives. It explores the primary care network of Eritrean immigrants in Switzerland as well as their experiences of interacting with health professionals. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews with intercultural interpreters from Eritrea were conducted. On the basis of a thematic analysis, the study identified the important informal and formal contacts in these Eritrean immigrants’ primary care networks and the specific forms of support each actor provides. In this network, encounters with health professionals were predominately expressed positively. The main barriers reported were language difficulties and intercultural understanding. On the basis of the participants’ statements, six key lessons for practice have been derived. These lessons are specifically important for facilitating Eritrean immigrants’ access to the Swiss health care system. Nevertheless, they are also relevant for other groups of migrants in European countries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1730-1739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott P. Stumbo ◽  
Bobbi Jo H. Yarborough ◽  
Micah T. Yarborough ◽  
Carla A. Green

Purpose: Individuals with mental illnesses have higher morbidity rates and reduced life expectancy compared to the general population. Understanding how patients and providers perceive the need for prevention, as well as the barriers and beliefs that may contribute to insufficient care, are important for improving service delivery tailored to this population. Design: Cross-sectional; mixed methods. Setting: An integrated health system and a network of federally qualified health centers and safety net clinics. Participants: Interviews (n = 30) and surveys (n = 249) with primary care providers. Interviews (n = 158) and surveys (n = 160) with patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar, anxiety, or major depressive disorders. Measures: Semi-structured interviews and surveys. Analysis: Thematic analysis for qualitative data; frequencies for quantitative data. Results: More than half (n = 131, 53%) of clinicians believed patients with mental illnesses care less about preventive care than the general population, yet 88% (n = 139) of patients reported interest in improving health. Most providers (n = 216, 88%) lacked confidence that patients with mental illnesses would follow preventive recommendations; 82% (n = 129) of patients reported they would try to change lifestyles if their doctor recommended. Clinicians explained that their perception of patients’ chaotic lives and lack of interest in preventive care contributed to their fatalistic attitudes on care delivery to this population. Clinicians and patients agreed on substantial need for additional support for behavior changes. Clinicians reported providing informational support by keeping messages simple; patients reported a desire for more detailed information on reasons to complete preventive care. Patients also detailed the need for assistive and tangible support to manage behavioral health changes. Conclusions: Our results suggest a few clinical changes could help patients complete preventive care recommendations and improve health behaviors: improving clinician–patient collaboration on realistic goal setting, increasing visit time or utilizing behavioral health consultants that bridge primary and specialty mental health care, and increasing educational and tangible patient support services.


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