Qualitative evaluation of a form for standardized information exchange between orthopedic surgeons and occupational physicians

Optimal communication from occupational physicians to GPs: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

Correspondence from occupational physicians to GPs is infrequent, despite evidence that good communication leads to earlier return to work of sick-listed patients and is cost effective.

AIM

To explore the circumstances, content, and preferred method of communication GPs would value from an occupational physician, following an occupational health consultation with one of their patients.

DESIGN AND SETTING

A cross-sectional survey in the UK.

METHOD

A questionnaire was developed de novo, piloted, and sent to 600 GPs of consecutive employees undergoing occupational physician assessments. Descriptive data were generated using Excel.

RESULTS

The response rate was 374/600 (62%). Demographic features of GP responders reflected national figures. A total of 372 (99.5%) GPs wanted information from occupational physicians. Most wanted information on diagnosis (303, 81%), clinical assessment (275, 74%), functional assessment (295, 79%), or advice on the timing (308, 82%) and adjustments 290 (78%) of any return-to-work plan. Over 80% wanted information following every occupational physician consultation, and over 90% wanted information on the timing of a return to work, adjustments suggested, or if different medical diagnosis or management was suggested. The preferred method of communication was letter by post 341/374 (92%). Brief, relevant information was valued and considered useful for completing 'fit notes'.

CONCLUSION

Occupational physicians should send formal letters, by post, to the patient's GP following occupational health assessments. This would assist the GP in completing the patient's 'fit note' and ultimately increase the chances of their patient being rehabilitated back to work.

How do general practitioners assess low back pain Web sites?

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional study of teaching general practitioners (TGPs) in the South of France.

OBJECTIVE

To determine what TGPs think about francophone Internet sites dedicated to chronic low back pain (CLBP).

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Patients with CLBP often seek medical information about their symptoms on the Internet. The quality of the information is usually poor. To date, the opinion of TGPs concerning the quality of CLBP Web sites remains unknown.

METHODS

We invited the 112 TGPs in the Southern region to participate. The participants used an assessment scale to evaluate 7 Web sites about CLBP in semicontrolled conditions. The quality and the importance of the different types of information (medical, nonmedical) and the design were measured on a visual analog scale (0-100) and with the point-sharing method (scale of 0-10).

RESULTS

In total, 47 TGPs responded. The median quality score for the 7 Web sites was 50 (range 30-79). The score for medical information was 52.5 (10-80), for nonmedical information it was 60.4 (20-90), and for design it was 56.4 (30-85). For nonmedical information, the median relative weight was 4, and for both medical information and design it was 3.

CONCLUSION

French TGPs believe that CLBP Web sites should focus on nonmedical, practical advice; they consider the design at least as important as the medical information. This viewpoint seems to conflict in part with patients' expectations. Good-quality and interactive Web sites could reduce this discordance. A list of approved sites should be available for general practitioners to recommend to their patients, to supplement information given during the consultation.

Physicians who experience sickness certification as a work environmental problem: where do they work and what specific problems do they have? A nationwide survey in Sweden

OBJECTIVES

In a recent study, 11% of the Swedish physicians below 65 years dealing with sickness certification tasks (SCT) experienced SCT to a great extent as a work environment problem (WEP). This study aimed at exploring which SCT problems those physicians experienced and if these problems varied between general practitioners (GPs), psychiatrists, orthopaedists and physicians working at other types of clinics.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional nationwide questionnaire study.

SETTING

All physicians working in Sweden in 2008.

PARTICIPANTS

The 1554 physicians <65 years old, working in a clinical setting, having SCT and stating SCT to a great extent being a WEP.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Frequency of possibly problematic situations or lack of time, reasons for sickness certifying unnecessarily long, experience of difficulties in contacts with sickness insurance offices, and severity of experienced problems.

RESULTS

In all, 79% of this group of physicians experienced SCT as problematic at least once weekly, significantly higher proportion among GPs (p<0.001) and psychiatrists (p=0.005). A majority (at most 68.3%) experienced lack of time daily, when handling SCT, the proportion being significantly higher among orthopaedists (p=0.003, 0.007 and 0.011 on three respective items about lack of time). Among psychiatrists, a significantly higher proportion (p<0.001) stated wanting a patient coordinator. Also, GPs agreed to a higher extent (p<0.001) to finding 14 different SCT tasks as 'very problematic'.

CONCLUSIONS

The main problem among physicians who experience SCT to a great extent as a WEP was lack of time related to SCT. The proportion of physicians experiencing problems varied in many aspects significantly between the different work clinics; however, GPs were among the highest in most types of problems. The results indicate that measures for improving physicians' sickness certification practices should be focused on organisational as well as professional level and that the needs in these aspects differ between specialties.

Organizational approaches to collaboration in vocational rehabilitation-an international literature review

INTRODUCTION

Collaboration between welfare organizations is an important strategy for integrating different health and welfare services. This article reports a review of the international literature on vocational rehabilitation, focusing on different organizational models of collaboration as well as different barriers and facilitating factors.

METHODS

The review was based on an extensive search in scientific journals from 1995 to 2010, which generated more than 13,000 articles. The number of articles was reduced in different steps through a group procedure based on the abstracts. Finally, 205 articles were read in full text and 62 were included for content analysis.

RESULTS

Seven basic models of collaboration were identified in the literature. They had different degrees of complexity, intensity and formalization. They could also be combined in different ways. Several barriers and facilitators of collaboration were also identified. Most of these were related to factors as communication, trust and commitment.

CONCLUSION

There is no optimal model of collaboration to be applied everywhere, but one model could be more appropriate than others in a certain context. More research is needed to compare different models and to see whether they are applicable also in other fields of collaboration inside or outside the welfare system.

Qualitative evaluation of the expectations of low back pain patients with regard to information gained through semi-directed navigation on the Internet

OBJECTIVES

To make a qualitative analysis of the expectations of chronic low back pain (LBP) sufferers with regard to information gained using semi-directed Internet navigation on a sample of French LBP-related websites, and to compare the results with those of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) medical doctors (MD).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Twenty-seven hospitalised chronic LBP sufferers assessed in ecological conditions a sample of seven LBP-related websites. The sites were assessed using a simplified version of a rating scale of patients' expectations. Analysis of the relative importance of the different kinds of information delivered was done using a point sharing method.

RESULTS

In a comfortable environment, patients gave high scores for medical and extra-medical information, but low scores for website design. Overall quality assessment was similar for patients and MDs. The relative importance of medical and extra-medical information, and design quality, was similar for Chronic LBP patients and MDs.

CONCLUSION

PMR MD seemed able to correctly evaluate the overall expectations of chronic LBP patients with regard to information, but their opinions on the different qualities of websites were different. Doctors and patients should collaborate in order to create or validate high quality websites concerned with LBP.