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Bridging the gap between patients' expectations and general practitioners' knowledge through disease surveillance
Monika A Johansen1, Jan-Are K Johnsen, Gunnar Hartvigsen
1Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine, University Hospital of North Norway, N-9038 Tromsø, Norway. monika.johansen@telemed.no
Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
|September 12, 2009
Summary
Nearly half of patients trust their general practitioners (GPs) to know about local infectious diseases, but GPs are often uninformed. New surveillance methods, like electronic patient symptom reporting, are needed.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- General Practice
Background:
- Patient trust in healthcare providers is crucial for effective public health.
- Understanding the gap between patient perception and actual physician knowledge regarding local infectious disease prevalence is important for surveillance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate patient trust in their general practitioner's (GP) knowledge of local infectious disease prevalence.
- To assess the actual knowledge level of GPs regarding infectious disease prevalence in their neighborhoods.
Main Methods:
- Telephone interviews with 1000 Norwegian patients.
- Individual or focus group interviews with 13 Norwegian general practitioners (GPs).
Main Results:
- Approximately 50% of patients believed their GP was well-informed about local infectious disease prevalence.
- GPs demonstrated a lack of accurate information regarding the prevalence of infectious diseases in their practice areas.
- A significant discrepancy exists between patient expectations and GP's actual knowledge.
Conclusions:
- Current infectious disease surveillance systems relying on GP knowledge are insufficient.
- There is a need for improved surveillance solutions to accurately track local disease outbreaks.
- Electronic retrieval of symptom data directly from patients presents a promising alternative for enhanced surveillance.
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