Evaluation: is the physician in practice clinic effective? Final report

Evaluation: is the physician in practice clinic effective? Final report

[Executive Summary]:
The Physician in the Practice Clinic (PIPC) is an innovative local approach to the management of chronic disease that focuses on the education of GPs by a Specialist conducting patient consultations with the GP at the GP clinic, instead of the traditional approach where the patient would be seen by the Specialist at the Outpatients Clinic. Expectations are that improved patient outcomes will result in the long term due to: 1) better educated and more confident GPs, 2) easier service access for patients, and 3) reduced waiting lists.

The expected short term benefits are for the GPs. The primary anticipated benefit is from the educational value resulting from a joint consultation with the Endocrinologist (the Specialist). GPs anticipate that not only will they be able to better manage the patients seen in the joint consultation but will be able to use this knowledge to provide better care to other patients. The lunch time forums provide an additional educational opportunity in a group setting.

Toowoomba Hospital Outpatients Department and GP Connections consider the PIPC to be a success, at least in the short term, and foresee benefits to the expansion of this program.

The University of Queensland and the University of Southern Queensland were commissioned to conduct an independent evaluation of the PIPC.

In order to ascertain the effectiveness of the PIPC the following guiding questions were examined:

1. Use of PIPC service: Are patients attending the Clinic at their local General Practice?
2. Patient satisfaction: Are patients reporting the expected benefits from the Clinic, of convenience of access and quicker access to a public sector Specialist?
3. Enhancement of GP’s knowledge: Is there a difference in the knowledge, management capacity and confidence to manage, patients in the community with an endocrinology condition, before and after they participate in the PIPC?
4. Endocrinologist: Is the project effective in meeting the stated aims; how/why not?

To answer these questions both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from GPs, administrative staff; patients; observations of educational forums (General Practice medical staff, Endocrinologist); and the Endocrinologist.

© 2011. Moffatt, J., Hossain, D., Boucher, D.
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