Management and monitoring of transient work incapacity. Is the primary care model effective?
Alberquilla Menéndez-Asenjo, A.; Ugalde Díez, M.; González Rodríguez-Salinas, C.; Pilas Pérez, M.; Rivera Guzmán, J.M.
Atencion Primaria 17(1): 40-46
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0212-6567 PMID: 8742143 Document Number: 456434
To clarify differences between the short-term sick notes issued by the two models of primary care--the new model (NM) and traditional model (TM)--and to identify possible conditioning factors. An observational descriptive study of a crossover type. Two base health districts in Madrid's Area 11. 31 general practitioners, who issued 3,508 short-term sick notes during 1992. Patients' variables taken from the P-14 cards of the Medical Inspections were: age, gender, diagnosis and length of time off. Professionals' variables were: age, gender, their job context and training. There were no clear differences in the number of short-term sick-notes issued by the two models, nor in patients' characteristics. There were differences in the failure to fill in the diagnosis, and in its distribution. There was also a difference in the length of the illnesses, which was more acute for the longer events. Though patients' characteristics were similar, those of professionals were not. The logical correlation between the variables relating to the professionals was confirmed by multivariant analysis. The profile of the NM professional could be simplified to: younger doctors, and training in family and community medicine. If possible influences of age and training were eliminated, the differences in length of time off were not significant. The differences found by our study in the length of short-term time off work could be attributed to characteristics inherent to the care model.