Family practice
-
Comparative Study
Quality of life and effectiveness of diabetes care in three different settings in Leuven.
The new diabetes protocol, formulated in Belgium as a consensus between the National Institution of Health Insurance and diabetologists, implicitly assumes the care of type 1 diabetic patients to be more efficient at the specialist level (SP) in hospital, although GPs frequently are involved in diabetes care. ⋯ Diabetes care in Flanders can be upgraded significantly. There is no evidence that specialists are performing better. Therefore, one could argue for better follow-up of diabetes care in a primary health care setting.
-
Assessment of the quality of primary care services may be enhanced by including patient perceptions as well as professional judgment of quality. There is a need for reliable and valid instruments to measure these perceptions. ⋯ The scale can be used by physicians or primary health care units and has a wide range of applications.
-
Locum doctors provide cover during normal working hours for GPs absent due to holidays, sickness, maternity leave or for educational purposes. However, there is little information on the extent of the use of locums or of GPs' perception of their services. ⋯ There are high demands for, but a considerable shortage of, locum doctors in general practice. Educational and other initiatives for GPs may contribute to increased demands for locum cover. Difficulties in recruitment may be reduced by measures to improve the conditions of employment for doctors working as locums on a longer term basis. New codes of practice for employing locums may increase satisfaction with locum services.
-
To identify and synthesize evidence from studies examining the quality of care of dying patients in both specialist and general practitioner care. ⋯ There is limited evidence of improvements in the care of selected cancer patients, and a dearth of evidence concerning patients dying from other, more common causes. The methods of research used to date are of limited current utility and new methods are required.