Patient safety culture in Norwegian primary care: A study in out-of-hours casualty clinics and GP practices

Objective. This study aimed to investigate patient safety attitudes amongst health care providers in Norwegian primary care by using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire, in both out-of-hours (OOH) casualty clinics and GP practices. The questionnaire identifies five major patient safety factors: Teamwork climate, Safety climate, Job satisfaction, Perceptions of management, and Working conditions. Design. Cross-sectional study. Statistical analysis included multiple linear regression and independent samples t-tests. Setting. Seven OOH casualty clinics and 17 GP practices in Norway. Subjects. In October and November 2012, 510 primary health care providers working in OOH casualty clinics and GP practices (316 doctors and 194 nurses) were invited to participate anonymously. Main outcome measures. To study whether patterns in patient safety attitudes were related to professional background, gender, age, and clinical setting. Results. The overall response rate was 52%; 72% of the nurses and 39% of the doctors answered the questionnaire. In the OOH clinics, nurses scored significantly higher than doctors on Safety climate and Job satisfaction. Older health care providers scored significantly higher than younger on Safety climate and Working conditions. In GP practices, male health professionals scored significantly higher than female on Teamwork climate, Safety climate, Perceptions of management and Working conditions. Health care providers in GP practices had significant higher mean scores on the factors Safety climate and Working conditions, compared with those working in the OOH clinics. Conclusion. Our study showed that nurses scored higher than doctors, older health professionals scored higher than younger, male GPs scored higher than female GPs, and health professionals in GP practices scored higher than those in OOH clinics – on several patient safety factors.Key Words: Adverse events, general practice, medical errors, Norway, out-of-hours, patient safety culture, primary care, Safety Attitudes QuestionnairePatient safety culture is how leader and staff interaction, attitudes, routines, and practices in a group setting may protect patients from adverse events.

• In out-of-hours clinics, nurses scored higher than doctors, and older health professionals scored higher than younger on patient safety factors.
• Male professionals in GP practices scored significantly higher than female on four of the patient safety factors.
• Health care providers in GP practices had higher patient safety factor scores than those working in out-of-hours clinics.

     

Contact with primary health care physicians before an acute hospitalisation

Abstract

Objectives: To assess contacts with general practitioners (GPs), both regular GPs and out-of-hours GP services (OOH) during the year before an emergency hospital admission.

Design: Longitudinal design with register-based information on somatic health care contacts and use of municipality health care services.

Setting: Four municipalities in central Norway, 2012–2013.

Subjects: Inhabitants aged 50 and older admitted to hospital for acute myocardial infarction, hip fracture, stroke, heart failure, or pneumonia.

Main outcome measures: GP contact during the year and month before an emergency hospital admission.

Results: Among 66,952 identified participants, 720 were admitted to hospital for acute myocardial infarction, 645 for hip fracture, 740 for stroke, 399 for heart failure, and 853 for pneumonia in the two-year study period. The majority of these acutely admitted patients had contact with general practitioners each month before the emergency hospital admission, especially contacts with a regular GP. A general increase in GP contact was observed towards the time of hospital admission, but development differed between the patient groups. Patients admitted with heart failure had the steepest increase of monthly GP contact. A sizable percentage did not contact the regular GP or OOH services the last month before admission, in particular men aged 50–64 admitted with myocardial infarction or stroke.

Conclusion: The majority of patients acutely admitted to hospital for different common severe emergency diagnoses have been in contact with GPs during the month and year before the admission. This points towards general practitioners having an important role in these patients’ health care.

• KEY MESSAGES

• There is scarce knowledge about primary health care contact before an emergency hospital admission.

• The percentage of patients with contacts differed between patient groups, and increased towards hospital admission for most diagnoses, particularly heart failure.

• More than 50% having monthly general practitioner contact before admission underscores the general practitioners’ role in these patients’ health care.

• Our results underscore the need to consider medical diagnosis when talking about the role of general practitioners in preventing emergency hospital admissions.

     

Writing information transfers for out-of-hours palliative care: a controlled trial among GPs

Objective: The aim was to evaluate the effect of the implementation of an information handover form regarding patients receiving palliative care. Outcome was the information available for the out-of-hours GP co-operative. Design: We conducted a controlled trial. Setting: All GPs in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Intervention: The experimental group (N?=?240) received an information handover form and an invitation for a one-hour training, the control group (N?= 186) did not receive a handover form or training. We studied contacts with the GP co-operative concerning patients in palliative care for the presence and quality of information transferred by the patient's own GP. Main outcome measures: Proportion of contacts in which information was available and proportion of adequate information transfer. Results. Overall information was transferred by the GPs in 179 of the 772 first palliative contacts (23.2%). The number of contacts in the experimental group in which information was available increased significantly after intervention from 21% to 30%, compared to a decrease from 23% to 19% in the control group. The training had no additional effect. The content of the transferred information was adequate in 61.5%. There was no significant difference in the quality of the content between the groups. Conclusion: The introduction of a handover form resulted in a moderate increase of information transfers to the GP co-operative. However, the total percentage of contacts in which this information was present remained rather low. GP co-operatives should develop additional policies to improve information transfer.

• Key Points

• ?The out-of-hours period is potentially problematic for the delivery of optimal palliative care, often due to inadequate information transfer.

• ?Introduction of a handover form resulted in a moderate increase of transferred information.

• ?The percentage of palliative contacts remained low in cases where information was available.

• ?Adequate information was transferred in more than half of the cases.

     

Who should provide care for patients receiving palliative chemotherapy? A qualitative study among Dutch general practitioners and oncologists

Abstract

Introduction: While close collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and hospital specialists is considered important, the sharing of care responsibilities between GPs and oncologists during palliative chemotherapy has not been clearly defined.

Objective: Evaluate the opinions of GPs and oncologists about who should provide different aspects of care for patients receiving palliative chemotherapy.

Design: We conducted semi-structured interviews using six hypothetical scenarios with purposively sampled GPs (n?=?12) and oncologists (n?=?10) in the Netherlands. Each represented an example of a clinical problem requiring different aspects of care: problems likely, or not, related to cancer or chemotherapy, need for decision support, and end-of-life care.

Results: GPs and oncologists agreed that GPs should provide end-of-life care and that they should be involved in decisions about palliative chemotherapy; however, for the other scenarios most participants considered themselves the most appropriate provider of care. Themes that emerged regarding who would provide the best care for the patients in the different scenarios were expertise, continuity of care, accessibility of care, doctor–patient relationship, and communication. Most participants mentioned improved communication between the GP and oncologist as being essential for a better coordination and quality of care.

Conclusion: GPs and oncologists have different opinions about who should ideally provide different aspects of care during palliative chemotherapy. Findings raise awareness of the differences in reasoning and approaches and in current communication deficits between the two groups of health professionals. These findings could be used to improve coordination and collaboration and, ultimately, better patient care as results demonstrated that both disciplines can add value to the care for patients with advanced cancer.

• Key points

• This study identified contrasting opinions of GPs and oncologists about who should provide different aspects of care for patients receiving palliative chemotherapy.

• Important themes that emerged were expertise, continuity of care, doctor-patient relations, accessibility of care, and communication.

• Although frequently using the same arguments, GPs and oncologists often considered themselves to be the most appropriate providers of palliative care.

     

Are general practitioners characteristics associated with the quality of type 2 diabetes care in general practice? Results from the Norwegian ROSA4 study from 2014

Objective: To explore the associations between general practitioners (GPs) characteristics such as gender, specialist status, country of birth and country of graduation and the quality of care for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting and subjects: The 277 GPs provided care for 10082 patients with T2DM in Norway in 2014. The GPs characteristics were self-reported: 55% were male, 68% were specialists in General Practice, 82% born in Norway and 87% had graduated in Western Europe. Of patients, 81% were born in Norway and 8% in South Asia. Data regarding diabetes care were obtained from electronic medical records and manually verified.

Main outcome measures: Performance of recommended screening procedures, prescribed medication and level of HbA1c, blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol stratified according to GPs characteristics, adjusted for patient and GP characteristics.

Result: Female GPs, specialists, GPs born in Norway and GPs who graduated in Western Europe performed recommended procedures more frequently than their counterparts. Specialists achieved lower mean HbA1c (7.14% vs. 7.25%, p?p?=?0.018) and lower mean systolic blood pressure (133.0?mmHg vs. 134.7?mmHg, p?p?Conclusion: Several quality indicators for type 2 diabetes care were better if the GPs were specialists in General Practice.

• Key Points

• Research on associations between General Practitioners (GPs) characteristics and quality of care for patients with type 2 diabetes is limited.

• Specialists in General Practice performed recommended procedures more frequently, achieved better HbA1c and blood pressure levels than non-specialists.

• GPs who graduated in Western Europe performed screening procedures more frequently and achieved lower diastolic blood pressure compared with their counterparts.

• There were few significant differences in the quality of care between GP groups according to their gender and country of birth.

     

Prevalence of persons contacting general practice for psychological stress in Denmark

Objective: The prevalence of psychological stress has previously been estimated based on self-reported questionnaires. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of persons who contact the general practitioner (GP) for psychological stress and to explore associations between psychological stress and characteristics relating to the patient, the GP, and area-specific socioeconomic factors.

Design: Cross-sectional computer assisted journal audit.

Setting: General practice in the Region of Southern Denmark.

Subjects: Patients aged 18–65 years with a consultation during a six-month period that was classified with a stress-related diagnosis code.

Main outcome measures: Six months prevalence of GP-assessed psychological stress and characteristics relating to the patient, the GP, and area-specific socioeconomic factors.

Results: Fifty-six GPs (7% of the invited) identified 1066 patients considered to have psychological stress among 51,422 listed patients. Accordingly, a 2.1% six months prevalence of psychological stress was estimated; 69% of cases were women. High prevalence of psychological stress was associated with female sex, age 35–54 years, high education level and low population density in the municipality, but not with unemployment in the municipality or household income in the postal district. GP female sex and age <50 years, few GPs in the practice and few patients per GP were also associated with a higher prevalence of psychological stress.

Conclusions: A total of 2% of the working-age population contacted the GP during a six-month period for psychological stress. The prevalence of psychological stress varies with age, sex and characteristics of both the regional area and the GP.

• Key points

• Psychological stress is a leading cause of days on sick leave, but its prevalence has been based on population surveys rather than on assessment by health care professionals.

• ??This study found that during six months 2.1% of all working-age persons have at least one contact with the GP regarding psychological stress.

• ??The six months prevalence of psychological stress was associated with patient age and sex, GP age and sex, practices’ number of GPs and patients per GP, and area education and urbanization level.

     

Burden of cardiovascular disease across 29 countries and GPs’ decision to treat hypertension in oldest-old

Objectives: We previously found large variations in general practitioner (GP) hypertension treatment probability in oldest-old (>80 years) between countries. We wanted to explore whether differences in country-specific cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden and life expectancy could explain the differences.

Design: This is a survey study using case-vignettes of oldest-old patients with different comorbidities and blood pressure levels. An ecological multilevel model analysis was performed.

Setting: GP respondents from European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN) countries, Brazil and New Zeeland.

Subjects: This study included 2543 GPs from 29 countries.

Main outcome measures: GP treatment probability to start or not start antihypertensive treatment based on responses to case-vignettes; either low (<50% started treatment) or high (≥50% started treatment). CVD burden is defined as ratio of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to ischemic heart disease and/or stroke and total DALYs lost per country; life expectancy at age 60 and prevalence of oldest-old per country.

Results: Of 1947 GPs (76%) responding to all vignettes, 787 (40%) scored high treatment probability and 1160 (60%) scored low. GPs in high CVD burden countries had higher odds of treatment probability (OR 3.70; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.00–4.57); in countries with low life expectancy at 60, CVD was associated with high treatment probability (OR 2.18, 95% CI 1.12–4.25); but not in countries with high life expectancy (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.56–1.98).

Conclusions: GPs’ choice to treat/not treat hypertension in oldest-old was explained by differences in country-specific health characteristics. GPs in countries with high CVD burden and low life expectancy at age 60 were most likely to treat hypertension in oldest-old.

• Key Points

• ???General practitioners (GPs) are in a clinical dilemma when deciding whether (or not) to treat hypertension in the oldest-old (>80 years of age).

• ???In this study including 1947 GPs from 29 countries, we found that a high country-specific cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden (i.e. myocardial infarction and/or stroke) was associated with a higher GP treatment probability in patients aged >80 years.

• ???However, the association was modified by country-specific life expectancy at age 60. While there was a positive association for GPs in countries with a low life expectancy at age 60, there was no association in countries with a high life expectancy at age 60.

• ???These findings help explaining some of the large variation seen in the decision as to whether or not to treat hypertension in the oldest-old.

     

Self reported involvement in emergency medicine among GPs in Norway

Objective: To examine general practitioners’ (GPs’) perception of their role in emergency medicine and participation in emergency services including ambulance call outs, and the characteristics of the GPs and casualty clinics associated with the GPs’ involvement in emergency medicine.

Design: Cross-sectional online survey.

Setting: General practice.

Subjects: General practitioners in Norway (n?=?1002).

Main outcome measures: Proportion of GPs perceiving that they have a large role in emergency medicine, regularly being on call, and the proportion of ambulance callouts with GP participation.

Results: Forty six percent of the GPs indicated that they play a large role in emergency medicine, 63 percent of the GPs were regularly on call, and 28 percent responded that they usually took part in ambulance call outs. Multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that these outcomes were strongly associated with participation in multidisciplinary training. Furthermore, the main outcomes were associated with traits commonly seen at smaller casualty clinics such as those with an absence of nursing personnel and extra physicians, and based on the distance to the hospital.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that GPs play an important role in emergency medicine. Multidisciplinary team training may be important for their continued involvement in prehospital emergencies.

• Key Points

• Health authorities and other stakeholders have raised concerns about general practitioner’s (GPs) participation in emergency medicine, but few have studied opinions and perceptions among the GPs themselves.

• ? Norwegian GPs report playing a large role in emergency medicine, regularly being on call, and taking part in selected ambulance call outs.

• ? A higher proportion of GPs who took part in team training perceived themselves as playing a large role in emergency medicine, regularly being on call, and taking part in ambulance call outs.

• ? These outcomes were also associated with attributes commonly seen at smaller casualty clinics.

     

Burdened parents sharing their concerns for their children with the doctor. The impact of trust in general practice: a qualitative study

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to recognise the preconditions experienced by general practitioners (GPs) in addressing the children’s needs when ill and substance abusing parents consult for their own health problems.

Design: Qualitative analysis of 38 case stories told by GPs in focus group interviews.

Setting: Focus group interviews of four continuing medical education groups for GPs in western Norway.

Subjects: 27 GPs (nine females) with at least 5 years’ experiences in general practice.

Results: Different aspects of the GPs’ perceived mandate of trust from the parents was a precondition for the children’s situation to be addressed. In some case stories the participants took an open mandate from the parent for granted, while in others they assumed that the parent did not want to discuss their family situation. Sometimes the participants had faith that by continuing with their ordinary GP tasks, they might obtain a more open mandate of trust. Their evaluation of the mandate of trust seemed to impact on how the GP could adopt a mediating role between the parents and various support agencies, thus supporting children who were at risk.

Discussion/conclusion: The children most at risk may remain invisible in GPs’ encounters with their parents, possibly because their parent’s health problems and overall situation overshadow the children’s situation. The mandate of trust from burdened parents to GPs can be a fruitful concept in understanding the interaction regarding the welfare of the parent’s children. Negotiating the mandate of trust with parents by explicitly addressing trust and having an ongoing discussion about the mandate and its limits might be an option to secure the children support if necessary.

• KEY POINTS

• Offering children of burdened parents information and support can be crucial for health promotion and illness prevention.

• A general practitioner’s (GP’s) evaluation of the trust parents have in them can determine the extent of support children receive.

• Depending on the parents’ level of trust, GPs may take a mediating role between support services and parents for the benefit of the children.

• A negotiation concerning the trust parents have in the GP may open up possibilities for GPs to offer children necessary support.

     

Treatment,transport, and primary care involvement when helicopter emergency medical services are inaccessible: a retrospective study

Abstract

Objective: To examine handling of cancelled helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) missions with a persisting medical indication.

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Setting and subjects: Cancelled HEMS missions with persisting medical indication within Sogn og Fjordane county in Norway during the period of 2010–2013. Both primary and secondary missions were included.

Main outcome measures: Primary care involvement, treatment and cooperation within the prehospital system.

Results: Our analysis included 172 missions with 180 patients. Two-thirds of the patients (118/180) were from primary missions. In 95% (112/118) of primary missions, GPs were alerted, and they examined 62% (70/112) of these patients. Among the patients examined by a GP, 30% (21/70) were accompanied by a GP during transport to hospital. GP involvement did not differ according to time of day (p?=?0.601), diagnostic group (p?=?0.309), or patient’s age (p?=?0.409). In 41% of primary missions, the patients received no treatment or oxygen only during transport. Among the secondary missions, 10% (6/62) of patients were intubated or received non-invasive ventilation and were accompanied by a physician or nurse anaesthetist during transport.

Conclusions: Ambulance workers and GPs have an important role when HEMS is unavailable. Our findings indicated good collaboration among the prehospital personnel. Many of the patients were provided minimal or no treatment, and treatment did not differ according to GP involvement.

• Key Points

• Knowledge about handling and involvement of prehospital services in cancelled helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) missions are scarce.

• Ambulance workers and general practitioners have an important role when HEMS is unavailable

• Minimal or no treatment was given to a large amount of the patients, regardless of which health personnel who encountered the patient.

     

Client-centred practices and work in inpatient rehabilitation teams: results from four case studies

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the relationship between client-centredness (CC) and work in teams in inpatient rehabilitation. Methods: Case study, mixed-method design, with strong qualitative component. Methods include ethnographic observations of team and clinical encounters for 6 months; healthcare professional (HCP) interviews. HCP n=45; Observations = 40 encounters & meetings. Results: Based on HCP perceptions, intra-team and organizational factors were identified that influence client-centred practice in rehabilitation. Team factors included relational and communication dimensions affecting work that can hinder or facilitate CC. These dimensions are presented in detail. HCP perceived organizational factors such as workload, schedules and hospital culture to influence their work on teams and with clients. Conclusion: CC is not a “one size fits all”. It is affected by similar factors that affect work in teams such as organizational policies, team characteristics and culture. CC can be seen as an outcome of team performance.

• Implications for Rehabilitation

• Client-centred practice (CCP) is influenced by client, provider and organizational factors. CCP is not just about client–provider communication. How inter-professional teams work together is an important aspect of CCP.

• Shared knowledge, shared goals and mutual respect characterize the relationships among members in a team. These three dimensions influence, and are influenced by, the nature of team members’ communication and the organizational structures and culture in which they take place.

• Effective teamwork does not automatically lead to enhanced client-centredness. Strategies are needed that ensure teamwork does not merely perpetuate the health professionals’ control of the patient or that decisions are the “right” decisions from the health care professionals’ perspectives.

     

Care managers can be useful for patients with depression but their role must be clear: a qualitative study of GPs’ experiences

Abstract

Objective: Explore general practitioners’ (GPs’) views on and experiences of working with care managers for patients treated for depression in primary care settings. Care managers are specially trained health care professionals, often specialist nurses, who coordinate care for patients with chronic diseases.

Design: Qualitative content analysis of five focus-group discussions.

Setting: Primary health care centers in the Region of Västra Götaland and Dalarna County, Sweden.

Subjects: 29 GPs.

Main outcome measures: GPs’ views and experiences of care managers for patients with depression.

Results: GPs expressed a broad variety of views and experiences. Care managers could ensure care quality while freeing GPs from case management by providing support for patients and security and relief for GPs and by coordinating patient care. GPs could also express concern about role overlap; specifically, that GPs are already care managers, that too many caregivers disrupt patient contact, and that the roles of care managers and psychotherapists seem to compete. GPs thought care managers should be assigned to patients who need them the most (e.g. patients with life difficulties or severe mental health problems). They also found that transition to a chronic care model required change, including alterations in the way GPs worked and changes that made depression treatment more like treatment for other chronic diseases.

Conclusion: GPs have varied experiences of care managers. As a complementary part of the primary health care team, care managers can be useful for patients with depression, but team members’ roles must be clear.

• KEY POINTS

• A growing number of primary health care centers are introducing care managers for patients with depression, but knowledge about GPs’ experiences of this kind of collaborative care is limited.

• GPs find that care managers provide support for patients and security and relief for GPs.

• GPs are concerned about potential role overlap and desire greater latitude in deciding which patients can be assigned a care manager.

• GPs think depression can be treated using a chronic care model that includes care managers but that adjusting to the new way of working will take time.

     

Sexuality after stroke: patient counseling preferences

Abstract

Purpose: Sexual dysfunction is common after stroke, but is frequently not addressed by healthcare providers. The aim of this study was to examine patient preferences for counseling related to sexuality post-stroke. Method: Two hundred and sixty-eight patients from a stroke registry were provided an anonymous paper or online survey. Thirty-eight patients responded and completed the survey. The survey included demographic information, and scales of sexual dysfunction, fatigue, depression and functional independence. In addition, we queried subjects about stroke-related sexual dysfunction and their preferences for counseling and education materials. Results: Most respondents (71%) identified sexuality as a moderately to very important issue in their post-stroke rehabilitation. Sexual dysfunction was common, with 47% of respondents indicating that their sexual function had declined since the stroke. Eighty-one percent reported receiving insufficient information about sexuality post-stroke, and the majority (60%) expressed a preference for receiving counseling regarding sexuality from a physician. A substantial portion (26.5%) of patients wanted to receive counseling prior to discharge from a hospital or rehabilitation center, with 71% wishing to receive counseling within 1 year post-stroke. Conclusions: Many stroke survivors experience sexual dysfunction and indicate a desire for additional information and counseling from healthcare providers. Preferences regarding the timing of such counseling vary, creating challenges for optimizing the delivery of this care.

• Implications for Stroke Rehabilitation

• Sexual dysfunction is common after stroke, but is frequently not addressed by healthcare providers.

• Many stroke survivors experience sexual dysfunction and indicate a desire for additional information and counseling from healthcare providers.

• Most stroke survivors identify sexuality as an important issue in their post-stroke rehabilitation.

• Exploring individual stroke survivor counseling preferences periodically over the course of recovery may be a useful strategy for delivering the desired information at the most appropriate time.

     

“It is not the fading candle that one expects”: general practitioners’ perspectives on life-preserving versus “letting go” decision-making in end-of-life home care

Background Many general practitioners (GPs) are willing to provide end-of-life (EoL) home care for their patients. International research on GPs’ approach to care in patients’ final weeks of life showed a combination of palliative measures with life-preserving actions.

Aim To explore the GP’s perspective on life-preserving versus “letting go” decision-making in EoL home care.

Design Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 52 Belgian GPs involved in EoL home care.

Results Nearly all GPs adopted a palliative approach and an accepting attitude towards death. The erratic course of terminal illness can challenge this approach. Disruptive medical events threaten the prospect of a peaceful end-phase and death at home and force the GP either to maintain the patient’s (quality of) life for the time being or to recognize the event as a step to life closure and “letting the patient go”. Making the “right” decision was very difficult. Influencing factors included: the nature and time of the crisis, a patient’s clinical condition at the event itself, a GP’s level of determination in deciding and negotiating “letting go” and the patient’s/family’s wishes and preparedness regarding this death. Hospitalization was often a way out.

Conclusions GPs regard alternation between palliation and life-preservation as part of palliative care. They feel uncertain about their mandate in deciding and negotiating the final step to life closure. A shortage of knowledge of (acute) palliative medicine as one cause of difficulties in letting-go decisions may be underestimated. Sharing all these professional responsibilities with the specialist palliative home care teams would lighten a GP’s burden considerably.

• Key Points

• A late transition from a life-preserving mindset to one of “letting go” has been reported as a reason why physicians resort to life-preserving actions in an end-of-life (EoL) context. We investigated GPs’ perspectives on this matter.

• Not all GPs involved in EoL home care adopt a “letting go” mindset. For those who do, this mindset is challenged by the erratic course of terminal illness.

• GPs prioritize the quality of the remaining life and the serenity of the dying process, which is threatened by disruptive medical events.

• Making the “right” decision is difficult. GPs feel uncertain about their own role and responsibility in deciding and negotiating the final step to life closure.

     

Potential cardiac arrest – an observational study of pre-hospital medical response

Objectives: A previous study showed that Norwegian GPs on call attended around 40% of out-of-hospital medical emergencies. We wanted to investigate the alarms of prehospital medical resources and the doctors' responses in situations of potential cardiac arrests. Design and setting: A three-month prospective data collection was undertaken from three emergency medical communication centres, covering a population of 816,000 residents. From all emergency medical events, a sub-group of patients who received resuscitation, or who were later pronounced dead at site, was selected for further analysis. Results: 5,105 medical emergencies involving 5,180 patients were included, of which 193 met the inclusion criteria. The GP on call was alarmed in 59 %, and an anaesthesiologist in 43 % of the cases. When alarmed, a GP attended in 84 % and an anaesthesiologist in 87 % of the cases. Among the patients who died, the GP on call was alarmed most frequently. Conclusion: Events involving patients in need of resuscitation are rare, but medical response in the form of the attendance of prehospital personnel is significant. Norwegian GPs have a higher call-out rate for patients in severe situations where resuscitation was an option of treatment, compared with other “red-response” situations.

• Key Points

• This study investigates alarms of and call-outs among GPs and anaesthesiologists on call, in the most acute clinical situations:

• Medical emergencies involving patients in need of resuscitation were rare.

• The health care contribution by pre-hospital personnel being called out was significant.

• Compared with other acute situations, the GP had a higher attendance rate to patients in life-threatening situations.