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Annals of Family Medicine 2:462-468 (2004)
© 2004 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.
doi: 10.1370/afm.231
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Patients’ Needs for Contact With Their GP at the Time of Hospital Admission and Other Life Events: A Quantitative and Qualitative Exploration

Henk Schers, MD, MSc1, Caroline van de Ven1, Henk van den Hoogen1, Richard Grol, PhD2,3 and Wil van den Bosch, PhD1

1 Department of General Practice, University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
2 Centre for Quality of Care Research (WOK), University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
3 University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Henk Schers, MD, MSc, Department of General Practice, UMC St Radboud, HSV 229, Postbus 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands, H.schers{at}hag.umcn.nl

PURPOSE Our goal was to explore patients’ anticipated needs for contact with their general practitioner (GP) at the time of hospital admissions and other life events.


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  		Table 1. Response Rates Within Subgroups
 

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  		Table 2. Patients’ Need for Contact With Their Physician During Life Events
 
METHODS We undertook a questionnaire survey of 875 patients from 35 general practices spread throughout the Netherlands and a qualitative interview study with 30 patients.

RESULTS Most patients expected to need contact with their GP if admitted to a hospital for a serious condition, such as a malignancy (98%) or a heart attack (97%). For minor conditions, such as a minor foot operation, contact was considered less important (33%). At the time of major life events, many patients anticipated needing contact as well: 81% in the case of a birth within the family, 90% in the case of a death in the family. In the quantitative analysis patients’ wants were related only to a minor extent to patient characteristics. The qualitative analysis, however, distinguished categories of patients with different needs. Some patients were more technical in their needs, others focussed primarily on the relationship.

CONCLUSION Patients appear to have considerable need for contact with their physician at the time of hospital admission and other life events. The profession should reflect on this underexplored field and attempt to take a policy-making position toward initiating patient contact.

Key Words: Physician-patient relations • patient preferences • life change events • home visits • physician role • continuity of patient care




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TRACK Comments:

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Can we find new ways of showing commitment?
George K Freeman
Annals of Family Medicine, 19 Oct 2004 [Full text]
Commitment and achievability
Henk J Schers
Annals of Family Medicine, 22 Oct 2004 [Full text]

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