Keywords
Family practice/trends; Professional practice/trends; Ambulatory care facilities/trends; Attitude of health personal; Health services research; Human
Abstract
Objective: To describe the numbers and activities of GPs with training in special competencies who have been registered in the Netherlands.
Design: Inventory of GPs who were documented in 16 registers in the year 2015, followed by an online survey.
Setting: General practice in the Netherlands
Subjects: GPs with special competencies.
Main outcome measures: Numbers per register, hours spent per month on activities related to special competencies.
Results: Overall 2833 registered GPs were identified. 1112 GPs responded to the online survey, including 219 GPs with special clinical competencies (51.8% response) and 55 GPs with special non-clinical competencies (59.8% response). The numbers per register varied, with less than 100 GPs in many registers but higher numbers for palliative care, echography, ophthalmology, travelers’ advice, obstetrics and quality consultants. High variation was seen in hours spent per month, highest for GPs with non-clinical competencies (mean: 19.6 hours) and lowest for GPs with registration as quality consultant (mean: 4.0 hours).
Discussion: GPs with special competencies (excluding quality consultants) comprise 9.7% of Dutch GPs. Their role and added value in the healthcare system should be a topic of research.
Citation
Wensing M and Braspenning J. General Practitioners with Special Competencies in the Netherlands: A Cross-Sectional Study. SM Prev Med Public Health. 2017; 1(2): 1006.