Role distribution and collaboration between specialists and rural general practitioners in long-term chronic care: a qualitative study in Switzerland.

INTRODUCTION: This study explores general practitioners' (GPs') and medical specialists' perceptions of role distribution and collaboration in the care of patients with chronic conditions, exemplified by spinal cord injury. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with GPs and medical specialists caring for individuals with spinal cord injury in Switzerland. The physicians we interviewed were recruited as part of an intervention study. We used a hybrid framework of inductive and deductive coding to analyse the qualitative data. RESULTS: Six GPs and six medical specialists agreed to be interviewed. GPs and specialists perceived the role of specialists similarly, namely as an expert and support role for GPs in the case of specialised questions. Specialists' expectations of GP services and what GPs provide differed. Specialists saw the GPs' role as complementary to their own responsibilities, namely as the first contact for patients and gatekeepers to specialised services. GPs saw themselves as care managers and guides with a holistic view of patients, connecting several healthcare professionals. GPs were looking for relations and recognition by getting to know specialists better. Specialists viewed collaboration as somewhat distant and focused on processes and patient pathways. Challenges in collaboration were related to unclear roles and responsibilities in patient care. CONCLUSION: The expectations for role distribution and responsibilities differ among physicians. Different goals of GPs and specialists for collaboration may jeopardise shared care models. The role distribution should be aligned according to patients' holistic needs to improve collaboration and provide appropriate patient care.

Potentially inappropriate testing for vitamin D deficiency: a cross-sectional study in Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: There is consensus that vitamin D supplementation is often indicated but population-based screening by laboratory testing for vitamin D deficiency is inadequate. Testing should be restricted to people at high risk of severe deficiency. This study describes the current lab testing for vitamin D deficiency in the adult population of Switzerland. METHODS: We assessed Swiss health insurance data (SWICA) for incidence of lab testing for vitamin D levels, comparing the years 2015 and 2018. Claims were analyzed for associations between lab testing and age, sex, medical indications, insurance status and geographic location in multivariable regression analyses. We also estimated the costs of vitamin D testing. RESULTS: Data from 200,043 and 200,046 persons for 2015 and 2018, respectively, were analyzed. Vitamin D level was tested in 14% of the sample population in 2015 and 20% in 2018. Testing increased by 69% for individuals aged 26-30. Testing was associated with being middle-aged to young senior citizens, female, medical indications (pregnancy, renal disease, osteoporosis, hyperparathyroidism, HIV, glucocorticoid intake), more chronic conditions, having a mandatory insurance with a low deductible, additional insurance coverage, and living in urban areas. We estimate that the total laboratory cost to mandatory insurance was about 90 million Swiss francs in 2018. CONCLUSIONS: Despite recommendations for routine vitamin D supplementation, vitamin D testing of low risk individuals is common and increasing in Switzerland.

Patients' experiences with the advanced practice nurse role in Swiss family practices: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Considering shortages of general practitioners (GP) and strategies for improving the quality of health care provision, many countries have implemented interprofessional care models with advanced practice nurses (APN). International evidence suggests that APN care results in high patient satisfaction. In Switzerland, the role is still new, and the patient perspective has not yet been researched. Our aim was therefore to explore patients' experiences with the APN role in Swiss family practices. METHODS: We conducted 22 semi-structured interviews in four different family practices with patients aged 18 to 97 suffering from minor acute to multiple chronic diseases, and who had at least one consultation with an APN. All interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in five themes: Despite the unfamiliarity, all patients were willing to be consulted by an APN because it was recommended by their GP (1); after several encounters, most participants perceived differences between the APN and the GP consultation in terms of the length and style of the consultations as well as the complexity of their tasks (2); the interviewees emphasised coaching, guidance, care coordination, and GP-assisting tasks as APN core competencies and attributed the characteristics empathetic, trustworthy, and competent to the APN role (3); most patients especially valued home visits and the holistic approach of the APNs, but they also noticed that in certain cases GP supervision was required (4); and due to the close collaboration between the APN and the GP, patients felt safe, well cared for and experienced improvements in physical and psychological well-being as well as in daily activities (5). CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that patients value the APNs' competencies, despite their initial lack of role knowledge. Trust in the GP seemed to be the most important factor for patients' receptiveness toward the APN role. Overall, patients perceived an added value due to the enlargement of the scope of practice offered by APNs. The patient perspective might provide valuable insights for further APN role implementation in Swiss family practices.