Organization of Health Care Teams and the Population's Contacts with Primary Care

Abstract

The aim of the study to examine a six-year development of the panorama of contacts and diagnoses at Södra Sandby Health Centre, where care teams had been introduced, and then to compare this development with that of the rest of the Dalby primary care district, where there were no care teams.

In Södra Sandby the number of contacts with general practititioners (GPs) increased between 1984 and 1989 by 8% more than expected from the increase in staff, while the number of contacts with district care (district nurses and assistant nurse) increased by 62% more than expected. The corresponding figures for Dalby were 1% and 34%, respectively. The total proportion of the population visiting GPs in Södra Sandby during 1989 was 54%, and in Dalby 58%. The corresponding figure for district care in Södra Sandby was 40%. The proportion of contacts for which no appointment was made in advance decreased in Södra Sandby from 45% in 1984 to 22% in 1989. The corresponding figures for Dalby were 61% and 64%.

This study did not find any verification for the fear that the organization of care teams would lead to a reduction in the number of contacts, e.g. on account of the frequency of meetings and conferences. The nurses seemed to retain their independent role, with the population contacting them in their surgeries or the nurses visiting them at home.

Key Words:

• primary health care team
• primary health care
• district nurse
• health visitor
• visiting home nurse
• home care