Cargando…
Assessment of the Consultation Rate with General Practitioners in the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the functioning of healthcare systems (HSs) in a way that was difficult to foresee earlier. It quickened the introduction of e-medicine, and changed the manner and number of services provided in the open medical setting. Aim: To assess variations in the con...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2020
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7659926/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33105612 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217710 |
_version_ | 1783608897297186816 |
---|---|
author | Ochal, Michał Romaszko, Małgorzata Glińska-Lewczuk, Katarzyna Gromadziński, Leszek Romaszko, Jerzy |
author_facet | Ochal, Michał Romaszko, Małgorzata Glińska-Lewczuk, Katarzyna Gromadziński, Leszek Romaszko, Jerzy |
author_sort | Ochal, Michał |
collection | PubMed |
description | Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the functioning of healthcare systems (HSs) in a way that was difficult to foresee earlier. It quickened the introduction of e-medicine, and changed the manner and number of services provided in the open medical setting. Aim: To assess variations in the consultation rate of patients in primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in consecutive months of the pandemic. Method: Data collected from two PHCs located in Olsztyn (Poland) were analyzed retrospectively. Collectively, these two centers provide care for approximately 20,000 inhabitants and perform approximately 100,000 medical services annually. The analysis was based on data covering the period April–July of the years 2010–2020, consisting in total of 337,510 medical services records. Results: A large, statistically significant decrease in the consultation rate (consultation rate understood as the number of individuals seeking consultation in relation to the number of people under care in a given time period) was revealed in each age group in the initial phase of the pandemic. In consecutive months, the approximated consultation rate achieved mean long-term values. Conclusions. The largest reduction in the consultation rate was revealed in the youngest age group, with the smallest occurring in the oldest. In the group of patients older than 65 years of age, the consultation rate after 3 months of the pandemic was the same as before the outbreak. Variations in the consultation rate were independent of the epidemiological situation. During the study, we observed an increased level of the administrative and paperwork activities carried out by PHC physicians. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7659926 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2020 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-76599262020-11-13 Assessment of the Consultation Rate with General Practitioners in the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic Ochal, Michał Romaszko, Małgorzata Glińska-Lewczuk, Katarzyna Gromadziński, Leszek Romaszko, Jerzy Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the functioning of healthcare systems (HSs) in a way that was difficult to foresee earlier. It quickened the introduction of e-medicine, and changed the manner and number of services provided in the open medical setting. Aim: To assess variations in the consultation rate of patients in primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in consecutive months of the pandemic. Method: Data collected from two PHCs located in Olsztyn (Poland) were analyzed retrospectively. Collectively, these two centers provide care for approximately 20,000 inhabitants and perform approximately 100,000 medical services annually. The analysis was based on data covering the period April–July of the years 2010–2020, consisting in total of 337,510 medical services records. Results: A large, statistically significant decrease in the consultation rate (consultation rate understood as the number of individuals seeking consultation in relation to the number of people under care in a given time period) was revealed in each age group in the initial phase of the pandemic. In consecutive months, the approximated consultation rate achieved mean long-term values. Conclusions. The largest reduction in the consultation rate was revealed in the youngest age group, with the smallest occurring in the oldest. In the group of patients older than 65 years of age, the consultation rate after 3 months of the pandemic was the same as before the outbreak. Variations in the consultation rate were independent of the epidemiological situation. During the study, we observed an increased level of the administrative and paperwork activities carried out by PHC physicians. MDPI 2020-10-22 2020-11 /pmc/articles/PMC7659926/ /pubmed/33105612 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217710 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Ochal, Michał Romaszko, Małgorzata Glińska-Lewczuk, Katarzyna Gromadziński, Leszek Romaszko, Jerzy Assessment of the Consultation Rate with General Practitioners in the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title | Assessment of the Consultation Rate with General Practitioners in the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_full | Assessment of the Consultation Rate with General Practitioners in the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_fullStr | Assessment of the Consultation Rate with General Practitioners in the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of the Consultation Rate with General Practitioners in the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_short | Assessment of the Consultation Rate with General Practitioners in the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic |
title_sort | assessment of the consultation rate with general practitioners in the initial phase of the covid-19 pandemic |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7659926/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33105612 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217710 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT ochalmichał assessmentoftheconsultationratewithgeneralpractitionersintheinitialphaseofthecovid19pandemic AT romaszkomałgorzata assessmentoftheconsultationratewithgeneralpractitionersintheinitialphaseofthecovid19pandemic AT glinskalewczukkatarzyna assessmentoftheconsultationratewithgeneralpractitionersintheinitialphaseofthecovid19pandemic AT gromadzinskileszek assessmentoftheconsultationratewithgeneralpractitionersintheinitialphaseofthecovid19pandemic AT romaszkojerzy assessmentoftheconsultationratewithgeneralpractitionersintheinitialphaseofthecovid19pandemic |