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Practice activity analysis: collaboration between general practitioners and a family practitioner committee
Summary
A scheme allowed general practitioners (GPs) to collect practice activity data, providing insights into consultation rates. This data enabled objective self-assessment and comparison with peers, fostering practice improvement.
Area of Science:
- Primary Care Medicine
- Health Services Research
Background:
- General practitioners (GPs) require tools for objective practice assessment.
- The Brent and Harrow family practitioner committee initiated a data collection scheme.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report on the operation and findings of a general practice data collection scheme.
- To provide GPs with structured information for objective self-evaluation of practice activity.
Main Methods:
- A data collection scheme involving 76 GPs across 22 practices was implemented.
- Practice nurse activity data was also collected and analyzed.
- Data analysis by the family practitioner committee provided individual consultation rate print-outs.
Main Results:
- Participating GPs received comparative data on their consultation rates.
- The scheme facilitated objective comparisons with partners and practice averages.
- Practice nurse activity was integrated into the data analysis.
Conclusions:
- The scheme successfully provided GPs with structured data for objective practice review.
- Comparative data empowers GPs to understand their practice patterns better.
- Assurances were given that data would not be used for individual criticism.