Rural general practice patients' coping with hazards and harm: an interview study

In need of percutaneous coronary intervention in an arctic setting- patients' experience of safety and quality of care: a qualitative study

Patients with coronary heart disease need timely treatment for survival and optimum prognosis. There is limited research exploring patients' experience regarding distance to percutaneous coronary intervention. The aim was to explore patients' experiences of aspects contributing to safety and quality of care regarding health services following percutaneous coronary intervention in Northern Norway. A qualitative explorative design was used, and 15 patients participated in individual semi-structured interviews 9-16 months after treatment. The reflexive thematic analysis revealed two main themes: (1) being part of a safe system and (2) adapting to new everyday life. Feeling safe and experiencing quality care depended on whether the participants were heard within the system upon first contact, whether help was available when needed, the travel time for treatment, sufficient information, the competency of care provided by healthcare professionals, and how follow-up services were organised when adapting to everyday life. To conclude, patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in an arctic context perceived healthcare services as safe when the system delivered continuous care throughout all levels. Consistent optimisation of transport time and distance to treatment, especially for rural patients, and extensively focusing on follow-up services, can contribute to improving safety and quality of care.

Medical malpractice in Norway: frequency and distribution of disciplinary actions for medical doctors 2011-2018

Background

Physicians who perform unsafe practices and harm patients may be disciplined. In Norway, there are five types of disciplinary action, ranging from a warning for the least serious examples of malpractice to loss of licence for the most serious ones. Disciplinary actions always involve medical malpractice. The aims of this study were to investigate the frequency and distribution of disciplinary actions by the Norwegian Board of Health Supervision for doctors in Norway and to uncover nation-wide patient safety issues.

Methods

We retrospectively investigated all 953 disciplinary actions for doctors given by the Board between 2011 and 2018. We categorized these according to type of action, recipient’s profession, organizational factors and geographical location of the recipient. Frequencies, cross tables, rates and linear regression were used for statistical analysis.

Results

Rural general practitioners received the most disciplinary actions of all doctors and had their licence revoked or restricted 2.1 times more frequently than urban general practitioners. General practitioners and private specialists received respectively 98.7 and 91.0 disciplinary actions per 1000 doctors. Senior consultants and junior doctors working in hospitals received respectively 17.0 and 6.4 disciplinary actions per 1000 doctors. Eight times more actions were received by primary care doctors than secondary care doctors. Doctors working in primary care were given a warning 10.6 times more often and had their licence revoked or restricted 4.6 times more often than those in secondary care.

Conclusion

The distribution and frequency of disciplinary actions by the Norwegian Board of Health Supervision clearly varied according to type of health care facility. Private specialists and general practitioners, especially those working in rural clinics, received the most disciplinary actions. These results deserve attention from health policy-makers and warrant further studies to determine the factors that influence medical malpractice. Moreover, the supervisory authorities should assess whether their procedures for reacting to malpractice are efficient and adequate for all types of physicians working in Norway.

Inter-sectoral network to face violence against children and adolescents in a rural context

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the Primary Health Care inter-sectoral network in a rural context to face domestic violence against children and adolescents.

METHOD

A qualitative research study, with the Paradigm of Complexity as theoretical and methodological framework. Eighteen health professionals from two rural Family Health Units in a municipality in the state of São Paulo were the participants. Data was collected through minimum maps of the institutional network and focus groups in May and June 2019. Data was analyzed through thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Two categories emerged, entitled "It's not nonexistent, but it's complicated" and "We're always on the firing line". The existence of a weakened network; assistance based on biomedical bias; and care fragmentation were characteristics present in the care provided to the families.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

The absence of network care was evident, with isolation and overload of the Primary Health Care unit that is enhanced by the characteristics of rurality.