Having a Family Doctor is Associated with Some Better Patient-Reported Outcomes of Primary Care Consultations

The impact of family doctor contract services on the utilization of and satisfaction with primary health care among Chinese residents: A cross-sectional study

Introduction

Family doctor contract service (FDCS) is a vital part of China's primary health care system. This study aims to explore whether contracting with FDCS affects residents' utilization of and satisfaction with primary health care.

Methods

A structured questionnaire was employed to collect data in January 2022. The questionnaire mainly included the following three parts: the social-demographic characteristics, health-related information, and utilization of and satisfaction with primary health care. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to adjust for social-demographic differences between participants who contracted with a family doctor and those who did not. For the matched population, we used the Chi-square test to examine the differences in the utilization of and satisfaction with primary health care between contracted and non-contracted participants. Moreover, multiple logistic regression and linear regression were used to explore the influencing factors of the utilization of and satisfaction with primary health care.

Results

A total of 10,850 people were investigated and 10,419 participants were incorporated into the data analysis. After matching, there were no significant differences in most of the matching variables between the contracted and non-contracted groups (P > 0.05). The utilization rate was significantly higher among the contracted population than of the non-contracted (96.3% vs 92.6%, P < 0.001). The quality of services (e.g., good service attitude, high medical level, and a trusted family doctor) was more likely to be cited as the main reasons for the contracted people to utilize primary health care than for the non-contracted. The contracted people were also significantly more satisfied than the non-contracted in all terms of satisfaction. Moreover, people who contracted with a family doctor were more likely to use primary health care with OR = 1.979 (95% CI, 1.511-2.593).

Conclusion

The contracted people were more likely to utilize and be satisfied with primary health care than the non-contracted. In addition, the contracted people tended to use primary health care because of the quality of services rather than because of the close distance or short waiting time. Therefore, it is important to further promote the high quality of FDCS to ensure residents' sense of gain and improve their satisfaction.

The impact of hypertension follow-up management on the choices of signing up family doctor contract services: does socioeconomic status matter?

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to explore the association between hypertension follow-up management and family doctor contract services, as well as to examine whether socioeconomic status (SES) had an interaction effect on this relationship among older adults in China.

METHODS

We used data from the sixth National Health Service Survey of Shandong Province, China, including 3,112 older adults (age ≥ 60 years) with hypertension in 2018. Logistic regression models and a margins plot were used to analyze the role of SES in the relationship between hypertension follow-up management and family doctor contract services.

RESULTS

The regular hypertension follow-up management rate and family doctor contracting rate were 81.8% and 70.9%, respectively, among older adults with hypertension. We found that participants with regular hypertension follow-up management were more likely to sign family doctor contract services (OR=1.28, 95%CI: 1.04, 1.58, P=0.018). The interaction effect occurred in the groups who lived in rural areas (OR=1.55, 95%CI: 1.02, 2.35), with high education level (OR=0.53, 95%CI: 0.32, 0.88) and had high incomes (OR=0.53, 95%CI: 0.35, 0.81).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggested that regular hypertension follow-up management was associated with family doctor contract services and SES influenced this relationship. Primary health care should improve the contracting rate of family doctors by strengthening follow-up management of chronic diseases. Family doctors should focus on improving services quality and enriching the content of service packages especially for older adults with higher income and education level.

Construction and Scale Development of Willingness to Utilize Primary Care Services: A Study from China

Purpose

The willingness to utilize primary care services is crucial in explaining residents' healthcare-seeking behavior and decision-making in the context of the free choice of healthcare providers. This study examines China's family doctor contracting services system to elucidate the conceptual structure of the willingness to utilize primary care services and develop a reliable measurement tool.

Methods

The study was conducted in two phases. Firstly, in-depth interviews were conducted with community residents, resulting in 42 qualitative data sets. Subsequently, a measurement scale for the willingness to utilize family doctor contracting services was developed, and the scale was validated through two surveys using exploratory factor analysis (N = 250) and confirmatory factor analysis (N = 278), respectively.

Results

By employing a grounded theory approach, this study analyzes the connotation of willingness to utilize family doctor contracting services. It constructs a conceptual framework for the willingness to utilize primary care services. This conceptual framework consists of three dimensions: perceived feasibility, perceived desirability, and perceived initiative. Based on this framework, a measurement scale comprising 14 items was developed and subjected to rigorous validation procedures to ensure its reliability and validity.

Conclusion

This study extends prior research on healthcare service utilization willingness by elucidating the internal willingness structure for primary healthcare services. It enhances our understanding of the connotation of healthcare service utilization willingness and develops a scientifically rigorous measurement tool. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into improving both the willingness and behavior of utilizing primary care services in healthcare systems where the hierarchical referral system still needs to be fully developed.

Optimal information disclosure strategy in the primary healthcare service market: From the perspective of signaling theory

The promotion of general practitioner (GP) contract service is one of the key components of China's healthcare reform. We consider GPs providing primary health services with private competency information over two periods, where patients decide when to sign. Two types of GPs are considered: those with higher and lower competency. Under asymmetric information, to spur the patients' incentive to sign, the GPs can move to offer competency disclosure schemes to patients, for example, separating or pooling, through which true competency information is revealed, respectively. We investigate three scenarios, which are referred to as "separating-separating," "pooling-separating," and "pooling-pooling." The results of the three scenarios yield intriguing insights into the impact of the GP's competency disclosure decisions. Findings include that GPs prefer the "pooling-separating" strategy, but patients prefer "separating-separating." Besides, an extremely low cure rate may enable GPs to conceal some competency information. Furthermore, low-competency GPs may exaggerate their competency level for profit, but greater efforts in disclosing competency information may result in diminished benefits. Therefore, to promote the services of GPs, the core is always to improve GPs' competency.

Preference to Family Doctor Contracted Service of Patients with Chronic Disease in Urban China: A Discrete Choice Experiment

OBJECTIVE

Shanghai is one of the pioneers proposing family doctor contract service (FDCS). However, there is no quantitative research focusing on the Shanghai experience from a demand-side perspective. This study investigated Shanghai chronic patients' relative preferences for FDCS using a discrete choice experiment method.

METHODS

A face-to-face discrete choice experiment (DCE) was performed to elicit the preference with 300 samples. Attributes and levels were extracted from the literature review and focus group consultation with patients. Seven attributes, follow-up frequency, medicine accessibility, family doctor competency, health management, referral convenience, appointment flexibility, and shared decision-making, were decided. Three levels were attached to each attribute. A mixed logit model was used to evaluate the multiple-choice data.

RESULTS

A total of 248 patients completed the survey. Patient valued FDCS medicine accessibility (β=0.57, P < 0.05), and high family doctor competency (β= 0.43, P < 0.05), regular health management activities (β=0.36, P < 0.05), high follow-up frequency (β=0.31, P < 0.05) the most. The good doctor-patient shared decision-making atmosphere (β=0.12, P < 0.05), high referral convenience (β=0.06, P < 0.05) and high appointment flexibility (β=0.04, P < 0.05) are valued as less important. No significant preference heterogeneity was identified for patients with different sociodemographic characteristics. Respondents reported other FDCS needs, including online health consultation, specialist services in local institutes, higher reimbursement rates, free rehabilitation guidance for the disabled and personal health management.

CONCLUSION

This research is the first discrete choice experiment FDCS preference research targeting on Chinese urban population. The results suggested that to increase the quality of FDCS, policy-makers should prioritize follow-up frequency, medicine accessibility, family doctor competency and health management. The service package should consider a higher reimbursement rate and rehabilitation guidance for the disabled if extra health-care resources available. Future FDCS policy should consider stated societal preference and be congruent with it.

Perceived quality of care among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the north east region of peninsular Malaysia

BACKGROUND

People with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are best managed by a chronic care model that is associated with enhanced quality of care and improved patient outcome. Assessing patients' perceived quality of care is crucial in improving the healthcare delivery system. Hence, this study determined the perceived quality of care among people with T2DM and explored its associations with (i) sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and (ii) types of healthcare clinics to guide future planning.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study involving 20 primary healthcare clinics in the North East Region of Peninsular Malaysia and people with T2DM as the sampling unit was conducted from February to May 2019. The pro forma checklist, interview-guided Skala Kepuasan Interaksi Perubatan-11, and Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (Malay version; PACIC-M) questionnaire were used for data collection. Univariate analysis and linear regression were used to determine the status of perceived quality of care and the factors associated with the perceived quality of care, respectively.

RESULTS

Overall, data from 772 participants were analyzed. The majority was from the Malay ethnic group (95.6%) with a mean (standard deviation [SD]) glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level of 8.91% (2.30). The median (interquartile range [IQR]) of the number of medical officers available at each clinic was 6 (7), with Family Doctor Concept (FDC) clinics having a higher number of medical officers than non-FDC clinics (p = 0.001). The overall mean (SD) PACIC-M score was 2.65 (0.54) with no significant difference between scores of patients treated in the two clinic types (p = 0.806). Higher perceived quality of care was associated with lower number of medical officers (adjusted regression coefficient [Adj.β], - 0.021; p-value [p], 0.001), and greater doctor-patient interaction in all domains: distress relief (Adj.β, 0.033; p, < 0.001), rapport (Adj.β, 0.056; p, < 0.001), and interaction outcome (Adj.β, 0.022; p, 0.003).

CONCLUSION

Although there was no significant difference found between clinic type, this study reflects that patients are comfortable when managed by the same doctor, which may support a better doctor-patient interaction. A larger specialized primary care workforce could improve diabetes care in Malaysia.

Analysing the preferences for family doctor contract services in rural China: a study using a discrete choice experiment

BACKGROUND

Preliminary evaluations have found that family doctor contract services (FDCSs) have significantly controlled medical expenses, better managed chronic diseases, and increased patient satisfaction and service compliance. In 2016, China proposed the establishment of a family doctor system to carry out contract services, but studies have found the uptake and utilization of these services to be limited. This study aimed to investigate rural residents' preferences for FDCSs from the perspective of the Chinese public.

METHODS

A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was performed to elicit the preferences for FDCSs among rural residents in China. Attributes and levels were established based on a literature review and qualitative methods. Five attributes, i.e., cost, medicine availability, the reimbursement rate, family doctor competence, and family doctor attitude, were evaluated using a mixed logit model.

RESULTS

A total of 609 residents were included in the main DCE analysis. The respondents valued the high competence (coefficient 2.44, [SE 0.13]) and the good attitude (coefficient 1.42, [SE 0.09]) of family doctors the most. Cost was negatively valued (coefficient - 0.01, [SE 0.01]), as expected. Preference heterogeneity analysis was conducted after adjusting the interaction terms, and we found that rural residents with higher educational attainment prefer a good attitude more than their counterparts with lower educational attainment. The estimated willingness to pay (WTP) for "high" relative to "low" competence was 441.13 RMB/year, and the WTP for a provider with a "good" attitude relative to a "poor" attitude was 255.77 RMB/year.

CONCLUSION

The present study suggests that strengthening and improving the quality of primary health care, including the competence and attitudes of family doctors, should be prioritized to increase the uptake of FDCSs. The contract service package, including the annual cost, the insurance reimbursement rate and individualized services, should be redesigned to be congruent with residents having different health statuses and their stated preferences.

Effects of FamilyDoctor Concept and Doctor-Patient Interaction Satisfaction on Glycaemic Control among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in the Northeast Region of Peninsular Malaysia

The implementation of Family Doctor Concept (FDC) to restructure the primary healthcare systems in Malaysia were expected to enhance patient’s satisfaction on doctor-patient interaction and subsequently improved glycaemic control among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients. Thus, this study aims to determine the difference in doctor-patient interaction satisfaction between T2DM patients attended FDC-implemented clinic vs non-FDC clinics, and to determine the association between FDC-implemented clinic and doctor-patient interaction satisfaction towards glycaemic control. A cross-sectional study was conducted throughout 10 districts in Kelantan from February until May 2019 using interview-guided Skala Kepuasan Interaksi Perubatan-11 (SKIP-11) and proforma checklist. Data were analyzed using SPSS ver.24. Chi-square statistic used to determine the difference in doctor-patient interaction satisfaction between both clinics type. Multiple logistic regression used to examine the association between FDC-implemented clinic and doctor-patient interaction satisfaction towards glycaemic control. Twenty primary health clinics involved, and 772 T2DM patients recruited. FDC clinics attendees has higher proportion of satisfaction (40.1%) compared to non-FDC attendees (33.7%) (p = 0.070). Multiple logistic regression confirmed the association of FDC-implemented health clinics (Adj. OR 1.63, p = 0.021), and doctor-patients interaction satisfaction (Adj. OR 1.77, p = 0.005) towards glycaemic control. Hence, strengthening of FDC in primary healthcare and improve the doctor-patient interaction satisfaction were essential to escalate good glycaemic control.

Coping better with health problems after a visit to the family physician: associations with patients and physicians characteristics

BACKGROUND

Good patient experience is recognized as an important component of a strong primary care system. Among the dimensions related to experience in family medicine, the ability to cope better with health problems is considered to be a measure of the quality of a consultation with a family physician (FP). The objective is to identify factors related to patients, physicians and practice, associated with patients' ability to cope better with their health problems after a family medicine consultation.

METHODS

The data stemmed from the Swiss part of the Quality and Costs of Primary Care (QUALICOPC) study, an international cross sectional survey aiming to compare quality, cost and equity in primary care. In Switzerland, a random sample of 199 FPs and 1791 patients participated. The negative answer to the question: "After this visit, I feel I can cope better with my health problems" was modeled using multilevel logistic regressions.

RESULTS

Difficulty to cope better with health problems was positively associated with the following: younger age (OR: 1.58, 95% CI [1.03-2.41]), cultural aspects related to the Swiss area of language (French speaking people declared higher inability than German and Italian ones), presence of chronic disease (OR: 1.54 95% CI [1.00-2.39]). Conversely an intermediate number (1-4) of visits during the last 6 months (OR: 0.37 95% CI [0.23-0.62]) and the satisfaction with the physician (OR: 0.18 95% CI [0.08-0.44]) are negative predictors of the patient inability to cope better with his health problems. A self-reported effort-reward imbalance at work (OR: 0.64 95% CI [0.41-1.00]) was the only predictive FP characteristic (negatively associated).

CONCLUSIONS

Although the design of the study does not allow causal inference, this study showed that the predictors of patient difficulties to cope better with health problem are mainly centered on the patients' characteristics. The patient-physician relationship both in terms of quality and frequency of visits is probably also important. Organizational practice characteristics do not seem to play a major role but stress at work among physicians should be further investigated.

Evaluation of the outcomes of care of nurse-led continence care clinics for Chinese patients with lower urinary tract symptoms, a 2-year prospective longitudinal study

AIM

The aim of this study was to evaluate the 24-month outcomes of a nurse-led continence care service for Chinese primary care patients with lower urinary tract symptoms.

BACKGROUND

Most studies evaluating the outcomes of continence care services have had short follow-up durations with limited knowledge on whether benefits are sustained beyond 12 months.

DESIGN

Twenty-four month cohort study.

METHODS

Two comparison groups were recruited: (1) Patients with lower urinary tract symptoms attending a nurse-led community-based continence care programme; (2) Primary care patients with lower urinary tract symptoms identified by screening, receiving usual medical care. Self-reported symptom severity, health-related quality of life, patient enablement and general health perception were measured at baseline and 24 months. Data collection occurred from March 2013-August 2015.

RESULTS

Baseline and 24-month data were available for 170 continence care and 158 usual care subjects. After controlling for baseline characteristics, the continence care group was observed to have greater reductions in symptom severity and larger improvements in disease-specific health-related quality of life, patient enablement and general health perception than the usual care group. Deterioration in the mental components of generic health-related quality of life was observed in the usual care group, but not in the continence care group.

CONCLUSION

Over 24 months, when compared with usual medical care, nurse-led continence care services were effective in reducing symptom severity and improving health-related quality of life, patient enablement and general health perception and provided protection against deterioration in the mental components of health-related quality of life in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms.

Having a family doctor was associated with lower utilization of hospital-based health services

BACKGROUND

Primary care in the United States and most countries in Asia are provided by a variety of doctors. However, effectiveness of such diversified primary care in gate-keeping secondary medical services is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate health services utilization rates of hospital emergency and admission services among people who used different primary care doctors in Hong Kong.

METHOD

This study was a population-based cross-sectional telephone survey using structured questionnaire on health services utilization rates and pattern in Hong Kong in 2007 to 2008. Information on the choice of primary care doctors, utilization rates and patterns of primary care service were collected. Poisson and logistic regression analyses were used to explore any differences in service utilization rates and patterns among people using different types of primary care doctors.

RESULTS

Out of 3148 subjects who completed the survey, 1896 (60.2%) had regular primary care doctors, of whom 1150 (60.7%) regarded their regular doctors as their family doctors (RFD). 1157 (36.8%) of them did not use any regular doctors (NRD). Only 4.3% of the RFD group (vs 7.8% of other regular doctors (ORD) and 9.6% of NRD) visited emergency service and only 1.7% (vs 3.6% of ORD and 4.0% of NRD) were admitted to hospital for their last episode of illness. Regression analyses controlling for sociodemographics and health status confirmed that respondents having RFD were less likely to use emergency service than people who had NRD (OR 0.479) or ORD (OR 0.624) or being admitted to hospital (OR 0.458 vs NRD and 0.514 vs ORD) for their last episode of illness.

CONCLUSION

Primary care is the most effective in gate-keeping secondary care among people with regular family doctors. People without any regular primary care doctor were more likely to use emergency service as primary care. The findings supported a family doctor-led primary care model.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01422031.