Part-time in general practice-a remedy to a time-based problem?

Increasing numbers of GPs are reducing the hours they work in clinical practice. The reasons for and implications of this are not well-understood. To investigate how the demands of general practice, especially new time pressures, impact GPs' professional and personal lives and work hour choices...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Family practice 2019-07, Vol.36 (4), p.511-515
Main Authors: Strazdins, Erika, Dwan, Kathryn, Pescud, Melanie, Strazdins, Lyndall
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australia
Burnout, Professional - prevention & control
Female
General Practice - statistics & numerical data
General Practitioners - statistics & numerical data
Grounded Theory
Humans
Interviews as Topic
Male
Middle Aged
Referral and Consultation
Time Factors
Work-Life Balance
Workload - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:Increasing numbers of GPs are reducing the hours they work in clinical practice. The reasons for and implications of this are not well-understood. To investigate how the demands of general practice, especially new time pressures, impact GPs' professional and personal lives and work hour choices. Using a grounded theory approach, we conducted 26 in-depth interviews with GPs working in Australia. Time-bound consultation windows, the complexity of patients presenting to general practice and consequent administrative and emotional burdens placed upon GPs combined to increase time pressures and an intensifying clinical load. Many GPs also strove to sequester time for family and reported burnout and poor health along with abiding concerns for quality of care. This study suggests a need for new policies on how clinical consultations are timed and remunerated in keeping with a changed GP demography, new demands and a more complex patient care profile.
ISSN:1460-2229
1460-2229
DOI:10.1093/fampra/cmy116