Managing heart failure in primary care: first steps in implementing the National Service Framework

BACKGROUND: Heart failure is common, causes considerable morbidity, and imposes a major financial burden on both society and the National Health Service. The National Service Framework (NSF) for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) set national standards for the management of people with heart failure in England. We examined how patients with heart failure were investigated and treated compared with NSF standards, and explored the current constraints in improving the care of these patients. METHODS: This study was carried out in two general practices (total list size 19,600) in south London. Using a computer search strategy, patients with possible heart failure were identified and clinical data extracted from their medical records. Workshops on heart failure were held at a national conference on disease management in primary care, and key stakeholders were interviewed to identify constraints in improving management. RESULTS: Ninety patients with heart failure were identified through the computerized search. Seventy-eight patients (87 per cent) had a Read code for heart failure on their electronic medical record. Forty-eight (53 per cent) patients were men and 10 (12 per cent) were aged less than 65 years. Forty-nine per cent of patients had undergone an electrocardiogram and 42 per cent an echocardiogram. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors were prescribed to 54 per cent of patients. In the workshops and stakeholder interviews, healthcare professionals and managers reported difficulties in implementing the NSF. They expressed concerns regarding the difficulties in confirming a diagnosis of heart failure, including access to echocardiograms, prescribing ACE inhibitors among older patients, and the additional workload and resources needed to ensure they met the NSF standards for heart failure. CONCLUSION: The accurate identification of heart failure patients and recording of clinical information as part of disease registers needs to improve if primary care teams are to meet the NSF standards. There is also scope to improve the investigation and treatment of heart failure patients in primary care. Achieving these objectives will require additional resources.     

Management of ischaemic heart disease in primary care: towards better practice. STaRNet. South Thames Region Network.

BACKGROUND: Ischaemic heart disease is the commonest cause of mortality in the United Kingdom. The objective of this study was to assess the management of patients with ischaemic heart disease in primary care, focusing particularly on the management of hypercholesterolaemia. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out of the clinical records of patients aged 25-74 years with confirmed ischaemic heart disease in six general practices (total list size 56 600). RESULTS: Recording of risk factors varied from 97 per cent for blood pressure to 73 per cent for cholesterol measurement. Seventy-two per cent of the patients had adequate blood pressure control, based on their last recorded blood pressure. Sixty-one per cent (267) were known to be taking aspirin daily and 29 per cent (125) had undergone revascularization treatment. Sixty-eight per cent (296) of the patients had pre-treatment cholesterol levels of 5.5 mmol/l or greater and 34 per cent (147) were currently taking lipid lowering drugs. Statins were the most commonly used cholesterol lowering agents and were being taken by 30 per cent (131) of the patients. Patients who had undergone revascularization treatment had levels of recording of risk factors similar to other patients with ischaemic heart disease but were more likely to be taking daily aspirin (71 per cent versus 57 per cent, relative risk 1.24, 95 per cent confidence intervals (CI) 1.07-1.44). The mean pre-treatment cholesterol was 6.49mmol/l and the mean post-treatment cholesterol 5.80 mmol/l (difference 0.69 mmol/l, 95 per cent CI 0.55-0.84 mmol/l). CONCLUSIONS: Systematic searches of computerized and paper medical records can identify subgroups of patients who will benefit from continuing follow-up in primary care. The results of this study suggest that ischaemic heart disease remains an area where there is scope to improve the management of patients in primary care. Considerable effort will be required from the members of the primary health care team to achieve this objective, particularly in the areas of computerized data collection and in the identification and recall of patients.     

Improving prevention systems in primary care practices: the Health Education and Research Trial (HEART)

BACKGROUND: The Health Education and Research Trial (HEART) was a multicenter clinical trial designed to test methods to improve primary care practice systems for heart disease prevention services. We present the trial methodology, the practices' use of medical record tools, and changes in documentation of cardiovascular risk factor screening and management. METHODS: Primary care practices were recruited from 4 Midwestern states. The factorial design resulted in 4 study groups: conference only, conference and quality improvement consultations, conference and prevention coordinator, and all interventions combined. Medical record audits and physician, staff, and patient surveys assessed practice change in cardiovascular disease risk factor documentation. RESULTS: Practices participated fully in this project, set goals to improve preventive services, and implemented recommended medical record tools. The number of goals set and the increase in the use of medical record tools were greatest in the combined intervention group, with improvements noted in all groups. The use of patient history questionnaires, problem lists, and flow sheets was significantly higher in the combined intervention group when compared with the conference-only group. Documentation of risk factor screening in a recommended-medical record location improved in all intervention groups, with significant sustained improvements in the practices that received the combined intervention. Documented risk factor management significantly improved in all intervention groups compared with the conference-only control. CONCLUSION: Primary care practices are interested in improving prevention systems and can change these systems in response to supportive external interventions. Promoting organizational change to produce sustained improvement in preventive service clinical outcomes is a complex process that requires further research.     

Improving the quality of preventive cardiovascular care provided by primary care physicians: insights from a US Quality Improvement Organization.

BACKGROUND: During 2000-03, Qualidigm, a US Quality Improvement Organization, conducted a project to improve the care received by elderly Medicare patients with coronary artery disease or cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: We recruited primary care physicians in private practice in the state of Connecticut. Then, we identified approximately 30-50 patients per physician from the periods 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000 and 1 November 2001 to 31 October 2002. We abstracted medical records to assess processes and outcomes of care, and we provided the physicians with performance data and a variety of practice-enhancing materials. The physicians utilized those materials that they perceived to be most helpful. RESULTS: We identified and recruited 974 primary care physicians to participate. Of these, 103 (10.6%) committed to participate, and 85 of the 103 completed the project. Among the intervention tools, physicians and their office personnel utilized personal digital assistants (PDAs) (36.5%) and patient education materials (34.1%) most commonly. Overall, quality of care improved for most physicians (mean quality score 62.0 to 67.8%, P < 0.001). However, not all improved, and most improvements were modest [mean absolute improvement in quality score 5.8%, standard deviation (SD) 6.8%]. CONCLUSIONS: Quality Improvement Organizations and others interested in improving outpatient quality of care face significant challenges in recruiting self-employed primary care physicians to quality improvement projects and in bringing about transformational change. Future primary care quality improvement projects should include careful assessments of practice-specific barriers, interventions that are linked to these barriers, and support of the practices on implementation.     

Cost effectiveness of a community based exercise programme in over 65 year olds: cluster randomised trial

OBJECTIVE: To assess the cost effectiveness of a community based exercise programme as a population wide public health intervention for older adults. DESIGN: Pragmatic, cluster randomised community intervention trial. SETTING: 12 general practices in Sheffield; four randomly selected as intervention populations, and eight as control populations. PARTICIPANTS: All those aged 65 and over in the least active four fifths of the population responding to a baseline survey. There were 2283 eligible participants from intervention practices and 4137 from control practices. INTERVENTION: Eligible subjects were invited to free locally held exercise classes, made available for two years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All cause and exercise related cause specific mortality and hospital service use at two years, and health status assessed at baseline, one, and two years using the SF-36. A cost utility analysis was also undertaken. RESULTS: Twenty six per cent of the eligible intervention practice population attended one or more exercise sessions. There were no significant differences in mortality rates, survival times, or admissions. After adjusting for baseline characteristics, patients in intervention practices had a lower decline in health status, although this reached significance only for the energy dimension and two composite scores (p<0.05). The incremental average QALY gain of 0.011 per person in the intervention population resulted in an incremental cost per QALY ratio of 17 174 (95% CI = 8300 to 87 120). CONCLUSIONS: Despite a low level of adherence to the exercise programme, there were significant gains in health related quality of life. The programme was more cost effective than many existing medical interventions, and would be practical for primary care commissioning agencies to implement.     

Primary care teams work harder in deprived areas

BACKGROUND: The NHS Plan promises an equitable distribution of resources within primary care. To inform the debate on the extent to which resources should be redistributed we examined the association between primary care activity and deprivation. We used the natural experiment of the organization of primary care in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, where town centre general practices have patients from electoral wards with a range of socio-economic characteristics who are subject to the same degree of supplier-induced demand and variations in data quality. METHODS: We used one year's prospective data for two practices with 20,106 patients from 15 electoral wards. We performed linear regression analysis of directly age-standardized rates for different types of primary care activity and primary care morbidity-specific contacts against Townsend and Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000 scores. RESULTS: There were 44 per cent more out-of-hours contacts in more deprived areas (95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 17-70 per cent), 18 per cent more surgery consultations (95 per cent CI 8-27 per cent), and 28 per cent more same-day consultations (95 per cent CI 12-44 per cent). Routine visits by doctors and contacts by district and practice nurses did not have substantial associations with deprivation. Morbidity-specific contacts for psychological problems and respiratory problems were associated with deprivation but there was no significant association for contacts for low back pain, asthma or menopausal problems. CONCLUSIONS: Different types of primary care activity and contacts for different morbidities had different associations with deprivation. This makes it difficult to recommend a simple list size adjustment; however, increased activity in deprived wards needs to be recognized in resource allocation, service configuration and performance management in primary care.     

Information for clinical governance: analysis of routine hospital activity data in Wales

BACKGROUND: Variations in hospital admission rates have been extensively reported for many years, but this evidence has not had a wide impact on clinical practice. Understanding local reasons for high variation to improve quality of healthcare should be a focus of clinical governance. Our aim was to convert routine hospital activity data into information on a category of high-variation, discretionary, hospital admissions and provide a tool for analysis for clinical governors in Local Health Groups (LHG). METHODS: We undertook a cross-sectional analysis of hospital activity data for the 22 LHGs in Wales and 101 general practices in Gwent Health Authority. Hospital spells for 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 were classified into Healthcare Resource Groups (HRGs). Using the systematic component of variation we identified a category of high-variation admissions for which the only plausible explanation was medical discretion. Using scatter plots we compared the proportion of these discretionary admissions with the age-, sex- and deprivation-adjusted standardized admission ratio. (SAR) for each LHG and practice. RESULTS: We found a two-fold variation in SARs between LHGs and a three-fold variation between practices. Mean discretionary activity was 55 per cent (range 50-59 per cent) of total activity for LHGs and 56 per cent (51-62 per cent) for practices. Greatest variation was found for elective admissions. The relation between discretionary admissions and the SAR was identified for each LHG and practice as the starting point for further investigation. CONCLUSION: This method provides useful information to LHG clinical governors to contribute to the process of reducing medical practice variation, increasing equity, improving the quality of care and making more cost-effective use of resources.     

Organizational Change: A Way to Increase Colon, Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening in Primary Care Practices

Screening tests for colon, cervical and breast cancer remain underutilized despite their proven effectiveness in reducing morbidity and mortality. Stone et al. concluded that cancer screening is most likely to improve when a health organization supports performance through organizational changes (OC) in staffing and clinical procedures. OC interventions include the use of separate clinics devoted to prevention, use of a planned care visit, designation of non-physician staff for specific prevention activities and continuous quality improvement interventions. Objectives To identify specific elements of OC interventions that increases the selected cancer screening rates. To determine to which extent practices bought into the interventions. Methods Eleven randomized controlled trials from January 1990 to June 2010 that instituted OC to increase cancer screening completion were included. Qualitative data was analyzed by using a framework to facilitate abstraction of information. For quantitative data, an outcome of measure was determined by the change in the proportion of eligible individuals receiving cancer screening services between intervention and control practices. The health prevention clinic intervention demonstrated a large increase (47%) in the proportion of completed fecal occult blood test; having a non-physician staff demonstrated an increase in mammography (18.4%); and clinical breast examination (13.7%); the planned care visit for prevention intervention increased mammography (8.8%); continuous quality improvement interventions showed mixed results, from an increase in performance of mammography 19%, clinical breast examination (13%); Pap smear (15%) and fecal occult blood test (13%), to none or negative change in the proportion of cancer screening rates. Conclusions To increase cancer screening completion goals, OC interventions should be implemented tailored to the primary care practice style. Interventions that circumvent the physicians were more effective. We could not conclude whether or not continuous quality techniques were effective. Further research is needed to evaluate cost-effectiveness of these interventions.     

The logic behind a multimethod intervention to improve adherence to clinical practice guidelines in a nationwide network of primary care practices

The gap between evidence-based guidelines for clinical care and their application in medical settings is well established and widely discussed. Effective interventions are needed to help health care providers reduce this gap. Whereas the development of clinical practice guidelines from biomedical and clinical research is an example of Type 1 translation, Type 2 translation involves successful implementation of guidelines in clinical practice. This article describes a multimethod intervention that is part of a Type 2 translation project aimed at increasing adherence to clinical practice guidelines in a nationwide network of primary care practices that use a common electronic medical record (EMR). Practice performance reports, site visits, and network meetings are intervention methods designed to stimulate improvement in practices by addressing personal and organizational factors. Theories and evidence supporting these interventions are described and could prove useful to others trying to translate medical research into practice. Additional theory development is needed to support translation in medical offices.     

Prevalence and management of coronary heart disease in primary care: population-based cross-sectional study using a disease register

BACKGROUND: Patients with coronary heart disease are at high risk of further coronary events. Hence, one of the main priorities in the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease strategy is the identification and treatment of patients with pre-existing coronary heart disease. We aimed to determine the prevalence of established coronary heart disease in a large primary care population and to compare the management of risk factors in these patients with the standards given in the National Service Framework. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out using data collected from primary care. Sixty-three general practices (total list size 378,021) in four primary care groups in SW London took part. Data collection was confined to 103,613 patients over 44 years of age. We calculated age- and sex-specific and age-standardized prevalence rates, and age-adjusted relative risks for men and women. RESULTS: A total of 6,778 patients with coronary heart disease were identified (8 per cent of men and 5 per cent of women over 44 years of age). There was a history of myocardial infarction in 30 per cent (1204/3991) of men and 22 per cent (613/2787) of women (relative risk 1.57; 1.37-1.81). Coronary revascularization procedures had been performed in 27 per cent (1068/3991) of men and 11 per cent (312/2787) of women (2.02; 1.73-2.35). Most patients had been assessed for hypertension (89 per cent (3538/3991) of men; 90 per cent (2500/ 2787) of women), but in many patients blood pressure was poorly controlled (26 per cent (902/3538) of men; 27 per cent (678/2500) of women). Total cholesterol had been recently measured in 51 per cent (2018/3991) of men and 44 per cent (1218/2787) of women and was elevated in 44 per cent (881/ 2018) of men and 59 per cent (716/1218) of women (0.74; 0.69-0.79). Statins were prescribed to 49 per cent (1967/3991) of men and 38 per cent (1064/2787) of women (1.06; 1.00-1.12). Aspirin was prescribed to 65 per cent (2586/3991) of men and 59 per cent (1631/2787) of women (1.08; 1.03-1.14). Beta-blockers were prescribed to 20 per cent (181/913) of men and 15 per cent (72/499) of women with a history of myocardial infarction (1.11; 0.85-1.44). CONCLUSIONS: Most patients with coronary heart disease in primary care were being treated with aspirin but less than half with statins or beta-blockers. More men than women were treated with aspirin and statins, even though women had higher cholesterol levels than men. Men were also more likely to have a confirmed diagnosis and to have undergone a coronary revascularization procedure. There is considerable scope for improving the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and addressing gender inequalities in primary care.     

Improving Care for Minorities: Can Quality Improvement Interventions Improve Care and Outcomes For Depressed Minorities? Results of a Randomized,Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: Ethnic minority patients often receive poorer quality care and have worse outcomes than white patients, yet practice-based approaches to reduce such disparities have not been identified. We determined whether practice-initiated quality improvement (QI) interventions for depressed primary care patients improve care across ethnic groups and reduce outcome disparities. STUDY SETTING: The sample consists of 46 primary care practices in 6 U.S. managed care organizations; 181 clinicians; 398 Latinos, 93 African Americans, and 778 white patients with probable depressive disorder. STUDY DEIGN: Matched practices were randomized to usual care or one of two QI programs that trained local experts to educate clinicians; nurses to educate, assess, and follow-up with patients; and psychotherapists to conduct Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Patients and physicians selected treatments. Interventions featured modest accommodations for minority patients (e.g., translations, cultural training for clinicians). DATA EXTRACTION METHODS: Multilevel logistic regression analyses assessed intervention effects within and among ethnic groups. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: At baseline, all ethnic groups Latino, African American, white) had low to moderate rates of appropriate care and the interventions significantly improved appropriate care at six months (by 8-20 percentage points) within each ethnic group, with no significant difference in response by ethnic group. The interventions significantly decreased the likelihood that Latinos and African Americans would report probable depression at months 6 and 12; the white intervention sample did not differ from controls in reported probable depression at either follow-up. While the intervention significantly improved the rate of employment for whites and not for minorities, precision was low for comparing intervention response on this outcome. It is important to note that minorities remained less likely to have appropriate care and more likely to be depressed than white patients. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of quality improvement interventions that have modest accommodations for minority patients can improve quality of care for whites and underserved minorities alike, while minorities may be especially likely to benefit clinically. Further research needs to clarify whether employment benefits are limited to whites and if so, whether this represents a difference in opportunities. Quality improvement programs appear to improve quality of care without increasing disparities, and may offer an approach to reduce health disparities.     

Effectiveness of a computerized decision aid in primary care on decision making and quality of life in menorrhagia: results of the MENTIP randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Computerized decision aids have the potential to increase patient involvement in the decision-making process. However, most published evidence concerning the effectiveness of decision aids is from secondary care. AIM: To evaluate whether the addition of a computerized decision aid to written information improves decision making in women consulting their general practitioner with menorrhagia compared with written information alone. DESIGN: of study. Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Nineteen general practices in the North of England. METHOD: One hundred forty-nine women presenting with menorrhagia were randomized to receive written information and access to a computerized decision aid or written information alone. Outcomes were assessed using postal questionnaires. These were scores on the Decisional Conflict Scale and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory anxiety scale at 2 weeks and the Menorrhagia Specific Utility quality-of-life scale, knowledge about menorrhagia, and anxiety and process measures at 6 months. RESULTS: Two weeks after the intervention, there was significantly less decisional conflict in the intervention group (adjusted difference = -16.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -21.5 to -11.7; P < 0.001). At 6 months, the intervention group showed better knowledge about menorrhagia (adjusted difference = 9.3 ; 95% CI = 1.9 to 16.6; P = 0.014) and menorrhagia quality of life (adjusted difference = 10.9; 95% CI = 0.9 to 21.0; P = 0.033). There was no difference in anxiety scores at either 2 weeks or 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: A computerized decision aid, used outside of the primary care consultation, is effective in increasing patient involvement in decision making in primary care.     

Congestive heart failure clinical outcomes study in a private community medical group

BACKGROUND: Although angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor therapy has been shown to improve clinical outcomes of patients with systolic dysfunction, it has been underused or prescribed in inadequate dosages by physicians in the treatment of congestive heart failure. Our goal was to evaluate whether integration of a clinical guideline within a continuous quality improvement program would improve care for patients with congestive heart failure caused by systolic dysfunction. METHODS: All patients of a private community medical group who were admitted to the hospital with congestive heart failure were studied prospectively for 21 months. An internally developed congestive heart failure practice guideline was presented to the group's physicians. The guidelines were available in the hospital computer system and were reinforced at monthly quality improvement meetings. Performance data were reviewed quarterly with the physicians. RESULTS: Rates of classifying systolic vs diastolic dysfunction remained unchanged during the study. Use of ACE inhibitor therapy at the time of discharge improved substantially for patients with systolic dysfunction. Quarterly admissions of patients with systolic dysfunction declined 49% throughout the study period. No improvement was noted in the documentation of specific discharge instructions. CONCLUSIONS: Use of a disease management guideline, ongoing physician education, and feedback of peer performance data to physicians significantly improved the quality and efficiency of care provided to patients with congestive heart failure in an independent, primary care medical group.     

The relationship between organizational culture and practice systems in primary care

The patient-centered medical home is an approach to comprehensive primary care relying on well-developed systems. Research has shown that for practices to meet patient-centered medical home requirements, care models may need to be redesigned. However, there is a dearth of information about what factors are important to achieve this goal. Self-report surveys from 293 staff across 42 practices in Minnesota showed variation in use of systems and dimensions of organizational culture. Organizational cultures that emphasize collegiality and quality but not autonomy were significantly related to the use of clinician reminders, clinical quality evaluation and improvement, and clinical information systems.     

Workload implications of identifying patients with ischaemic heart disease in primary care: population-based study

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to develop ischaemic heart disease (IHD) registers in three primary care groups (PCGs) in SW London; to determine what proportion of patients with IHD were already identified; and to estimate the workload in producing an IHD disease register. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out in 46 out of 49 general practices in three PCGs in SW London, using computerized and paper medical records. Outcome measures were proportion of patients with IHD on existing disease registers, and workload and cost of producing complete registers. RESULTS: Of 3803 patients with a pre-existing IHD Read code, 570 (15 per cent) were found to have no evidence of IHD, leaving 3233 patients with confirmed or probable IHD. A search of 7726 patients prescribed one of five cardiovascular drugs but not already coded as having IHD identified a further 1447 confirmed or probable cases. On average, coders spent 4.9 hours per 1000 list size verifying IHD cases or finding uncoded cases. Each additional IHD case required about 0.68 hours (41 minutes) of coder's time to identify and one case of IHD was identified or confirmed for about every five sets of notes examined. The cost of each additional case identified was about pounds sterling 10.20. At practice level, there was a wide variation in the proportion of IHD patients already on the register or wrongly coded as having IHD. CONCLUSIONS: A centralized search programme can identify patients with IHD efficiently and at relatively low cost. As the identification of cases is an essential first step in implementing effective secondary prevention, other primary care trusts may also find this method useful in improving the management of patients with IHD.     

Just-in-time evidence-based e-mail "reminders" in home health care: impact on nurse practices

OBJECTIVE: To test the effectiveness of two interventions designed to improve the adoption of evidence-based practices by home health nurses caring for heart failure (HF) patients. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Information on nurse practices was abstracted from the clinical records of patients admitted between June 2000 and November 2001 to the care of 354 study nurses at a large, urban, nonprofit home care agency. STUDY DESIGN: The study employed a randomized design with nurses assigned to usual care or one of two intervention groups upon identification of an eligible patient. The basic intervention was a one-time e-mail reminder highlighting six HF-specific clinical recommendations. The augmented intervention consisted of the initial e-mail reminder supplemented by provider prompts, patient education material, and clinical nurse specialist outreach. DATA COLLECTION: At each home health visit provided by a study nurse to an eligible HF patient during the 45-day follow-up period, a structured chart abstraction tool was used to collect information on whether the nurse provided the care practices highlighted in the e-mail reminder. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Both the basic and the augmented interventions greatly increased the practice of evidence-based care, according to patient records, in the areas of patient assessment and instructions about HF disease management. While not all results were statistically significant at conventional levels, intervention effects were positive in virtually all cases and effect magnitudes frequently were large. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this randomized trial strongly support the efficacy of just-in-time evidence-based reminders as a means of changing clinical practice among home health nurses who are geographically dispersed and spend much of their time in the field.     

Education to improve the quality of clinical care in group practices

Intervening to improve the quality of medical care is an essential component of an effective quality improvement program. Although interventions may take many forms, most have some educational component. This article discusses different types of educational strategies that may be used in group practices and describes our experience with a continuing medical education (CME) program based on the results of clinical performance measurement. Data are presented showing the effectiveness and acceptability of the educational intervention in the DEMPAQ project.     

Saying 'goodbye' to single-handed practices; what do patients and staff lose or gain?

BACKGROUND: The practice setting is, next to the GP and staff, an important determinant of the quality of care. Differences between single-handed practices and group practices in practice management and organization could therefore provide clues for improvement. An explorative, cross sectional survey was conducted in 766 general practices in The Netherlands comparing single-handed practices with group practices. OBJECTIVE: The study is looking for answers on aspects of the organization and management that are lost or gained when single-handed GPs and practices are replaced by group practices. METHODS: Between 1999 and 2003 GPs and their practices were assessed using a validated practice visit method (VIP) consisting of 303 indicators describing 56 dimensions of practice management. Instruments used consisted of questionnaires for patients, GPs, practice assistant and a direct observer in the practice. Single-handed practices (1 GP) were compared to group practices or health centres (>2.0 GPs) comparing raw scores on dimensions of practice management. In addition, data were analysed in a regression model with specific aspects of practice management as dependent variables using a general linear model procedure. Independent variables included 'single-handed/group practice', 'rural/ urban' 'part-time/full-time' and 'male/female'. RESULTS: Group practices scored better on nearly all aspects of infrastructure except those rated by patients. Patients gave single-handed practices higher marks for service, accessibility and even for the facilities. In single-handed practices GPs reported that they worked more and experienced higher levels of job stress. They delegated less of the medical technical tasks but there is no difference in delegation of preventive tasks/treatment of chronic diseases. Group practices had more computerized medical information and more quality assurance activities, but gave less patient information. Single-handed practices spent more hours on continuous medical education. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The quality of the practice infrastructure and the team scored better in group practices, but patients appreciated the single-handed practice better. The advantages of single-handed practices could be a challenge for group practices to give better personal, continuous care and to put the patient perspective before organizational considerations. This is underlined by the better score on patient information of single-handed practices. Single-handed practices can reduce their vulnerability and openness to high demand by opening up to the requirements of organised primary care.