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New report oversimplifies the work GPs actually do: RACGP President
Dr Harry Nespolon criticised a report stating the top reasons for visiting a GP are to access a prescription, review or follow-up, and upper respiratory tract infections.
Dr Harry Nespolon said it is ‘ridiculous to think the most common reason people visit their GP is a repeat prescription’.
RACGP President Dr Harry Nespolon has questioned the quality of data in NPS Medicinewise’s General practice insights report 2016–2017.
While the report found accessing a prescription is the top reason to visit a GP, it only accounted for 3.96% of consultations.
Dr Nespolon told newsGP the report oversimplifies the complex work GPs actually do in day-to-day practice.
‘It’s ridiculous to think the most common reason people visit their GP is a repeat prescription; it’s one of the rarest reasons, to have people show up just for a repeat,’ he said.
‘A repeat script is an action, not a diagnosis. When people say they’re just here for a repeat, they’re often the ones here for a full 15-minute consultation.’
Dr Nespolon gave the example of a patient arriving for a repeat prescription for anti-depressants, in which case GPs would review the patient’s progress, ask how life is going, and check that the medication and dosage are still appropriate before providing the repeat.
‘This report does nothing for GP confidence in NPS Medicinewise and the way it deals with its data,’ Dr Nespolon said.
In part, the issue stems from the fact time-poor GPs may record the same condition using different terms, or even simply listing ‘prescription’ when the actual long-term issue is, for example, hypertension.
‘This relies a lot on doctors putting in the right diagnosis,’ Dr Nespolon said.
‘Yes, we need to improve the quality of diagnoses GPs put into their electronic medical records. [But] this data shows concerns about the quality of data used to potentially pay doctors.’
Dr Nespolon warned that similar data quality issues may affect the proposed Quality Improvement Practice Incentive Payment (QI PIP) scheme for GPs.
‘This doesn’t bode well for QI PIP,’ he said.
data general practice NPS Medicinewise
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