Delphi definition of general practice/family medicine specialty for a post-COVID world: in-person and remote care delivery

Prazeres F 1 , Jamoulle M 2 , Kareli A 3 , Collins C 4 , Móczár C 5 , Wong MCS 6 Show all authors , Bhattacharya S 7 , Vinker S 8 , Low LL 9 , Abdul-Razak S 10 , Brooke J 11 , Verjee MA 12 , Yaman H 13 , Prasad P 14 , Søndergaard J 15 , Pond D 16 , Hughes L 17 , Cihan FG 18 , Tsimtsiou Z 19 , Harrison C 20 , Albarqouni L 21 , Yuan B 22 , Lee YK 23 , Van Royen P 24 , Govender I 25 , Arnetz BB 26 , O'Donnell CA 27

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilhã, Portugal
  • 2 HEC University of Liège, Management Information Systems, Rue Louvrex 14, 4000 Liège, Belgium
  • 3 Georgia Family Medicine Association, Tbilisi State Medical University, 33 Vazha-Pshavela Ave, Tbilisi 0186, Georgia
  • 4 Irish College of General Practitioners, 4-5 Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, D02 XR68, Ireland
  • 5 Department of Family Medicine, Semmelweis University, Stáhly str.  7-9. 5.floor, 1085 Budapest, Hungary
  • 6 JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Room 202, School of Public Health Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
  • 7 Department of Community and Family Medicine, Academic Building, Zone-1, Floor-1, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Devipur Campus, Deoghar, Jharkhand, 814152  India
  • 8 Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University,  P.O. Box 39040, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
  • 9 SingHealth Duke-NUS Family Medicine Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, Khoo Teck Puat Building, 8 College Road, 169857, Singapore
  • 10 Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Selangor Branch, 47000 Jalan Hospital, Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 11 College of Nursing and Midwifery, Birmingham City University, South Campus, Westbourne Road, Birmingham, B15 3TN, England
  • 12 Medical Education, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Qatar Foundation-Education City, P.O. Box 24144, Doha, State of Qatar
  • 13 Anatolia Hospital, Caybasi Mah. 1352 Sk.8, 07200 Antalya, Türkiye
  • 14 Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, B.P.Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Buddha Chowk, Dharan, Sunsari, Koshi Province, Nepal
  • 15 Research Unit of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
  • 16 University of New England, Elm Avenue, Armidale NSW 2351, Australia
  • 17 School of Medicine, University of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School DD1 9SY, United Kingdom
  • 18 Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Abdulhamid Han Street, Selcuklu, Konya, Turkey
  • 19 Department of Hygiene, Social-Preventive Medicine and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
  • 20 Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Edward Ford Building, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia
  • 21 Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, University Drive Gold Coast, QLD, 4229, Australia
  • 22 China Center for Health Development Studies, Peking University, XueYuan Road 38, Mailbox 505, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China
  • 23 Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 24 Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Doornstraat 331, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
  • 25 Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Molotlegi Street, Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
  • 26 Department of Family Medicine, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, Secchia Center, 15 Michigan Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, United States
  • 27 General Practice and Primary Care, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Clarice Pears Building, 90 Byres Road, Glasgow G12 8TB, United Kingdom
Fam Pract, 2024 Nov 19.
PMID: 39561247 DOI: 10.1093/fampra/cmae061

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The evolving landscape of general practice (GP)/family medicine (FM) in the post-COVID-19 era, focussing on integrating telemedicine and remote consultations requires a new definition for this specialty. Hence, a broader consensus-based definition of post-COVID-19 GP/FM is warranted.

METHODS: This study involved a modified electronic Delphi technique involving 27 specialists working in primary care recruited via convenient and snowball sampling. The Delphi survey was conducted online between August 2022 and April 2023, utilizing the Google Forms platform. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyse consensus across Delphi rounds.

RESULTS: Twenty-six international experts participated in the survey. The retention rate through the second and third Delphi rounds was 96.2% (n = 25). The broader consensus definition emphasizes person-centred care, collaborative patient-physician partnerships, and a holistic approach to health, including managing acute and chronic conditions through in-person or remote access based on patient preferences, medical needs, and local health system organization.

CONCLUSION: The study highlights the importance of continuity of care, prevention, and coordination with other healthcare professionals as core values of primary care. It also reflects the role of GP/FM in addressing new challenges post-pandemic, such as healthcare delivery beyond standard face-to-face care (e.g. remote consultations) and an increasingly important role in the prevention of infectious diseases. This underscores the need for ongoing research and patient involvement to continually refine and improve primary healthcare delivery in response to changing healthcare landscapes.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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