Insights from Primary Care Practice during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Informing the Development of an EQuiP Position Statement for Advancing the Health Sector

Pierre Vanden Bussche, Sara Willems, Esther Van Poel, Claire Collins, Andree Rochfort, Kathryn Hoffmann, Jonila Gabrani, Benoît Pétré, Cécile Ponsar, Sanda Kreitmayer, Radost Asenova, Zlata Ožvačić, Neophytos Stylianou, Bohumil Seifert, Anne Holm, Ulrik Bak Kirk, Katrin Martinson, Merja Laine, Païvi Korhonen, Hector Falcoff, Emmily Schaubroeck, Stefanie Stark, Athina Tatsioni, Zoltán Lakó-Futó, Péter Torzsa, Emil Lárus Sigurðsson, Limor Adler, Ferdinando Petrazzuoli, Gazmend Bojaj, Bernard Tahirbegolli, Sandra Gintere, Cindy Heaster, Liubovė Murauskienė, Raquel Gomez Bravo, Jean Karl Soler, Giulia Delvento, Ala Curteanu, Curocichin Ghenadie, Peter Groenewegen, Maria Vanden Muijsenbergh, Kiril Soleski, Torunn Bjerve Eide, Frode Fadnes Jacobsen, Adam Windak, Katarzyna Nessler, Bruno Heleno, Pedro Pita Barros, Carmen Busneag, Milena Šantrić Milićević, Zalika Klemenc Ketiš, Sara Ares, Maria Pilar Astier Peña, Eva Arvidsson, Karin Blomberg, Mats Eriksson, Sven Streit, Christian Mallen, Pemra Unalan, Ali Yazkan, Canan Tuz Yilmaz, Victoria Tkachenko

Keywords: primary healthcare, general practice, quality of care, COVID-19, preparedness, infectious diseases

Introduction:

The COVID-19 pandemic was a huge challenge for primary care (PC), its organisation and processes, the people working there and its interfaces with the wider healthcare system. The fight against COVID-19 has emphasised the critical role of PC: to serve as the first, and for most patients, the only point of contact with healthcare professionals during a pandemic surge.
Mid-2020, an international research consortium led by Ghent University set up the PRICOV-19 study to research how PC practices in 37 European countries and Israel were organised during the COVID-19 pandemic to guarantee safe, efficient, effective, patient-centred, and equitable care. Also, the shift in roles and tasks and the wellbeing of staff members were researched. PRICOV-19 also aimed to study the association with practice- and healthcare system characteristics. In total, more than 5,000 PC practices filled in an online survey, making PRICOV-19 the largest and most comprehensive study on this topic ever done in Europe.
The findings derived from PRICOV-19 have the potential to guide policymakers, politicians, national primary care colleges, and institutes tasked with training future General Practitioners (GPs) in enhancing the preparedness of primary care systems throughout Europe for the post-COVID-19 era, as well as for any future outbreaks of infectious diseases. The insights generated from this study can also be utilized to bolster primary care systems in mitigating the deleterious health effects of COVID-19 (or other future epidemics), easing the strain on hospitals, and supporting the implementation of effective vaccination and public health measures. It is worth noting that strengthening primary care is increasingly important given the mounting challenges posed by factors such as population ageing, the increasing burden of chronic diseases, and persistent societal inequities.

Method:

Presentation of the draft EQuiP position statement
Interactive discussion about the different statements in the document:
When the number of participants allows, the group will be divided into smaller groups, each focusing on one or two statements including the following themes:
• The infrastructure, workforce and research
• The role of telemedicine and digitalisation
• The cooperation and communication between public health and primary care
• The provision of equitable care and collaboration to deliver integrated care
• The safety of care delivered
• The well-being of the health workforce
• Training of doctors and students within the practice
Plenary reporting of the discussion in the small groups
Formulating amendments to the text

Ideally, the workshop should be scheduled in the morning to allow the primary authors to make any necessary revisions in the hours immediately following the session. Later in the afternoon, the updated text will be presented to all attending EQuiP members, and appropriate measures will be taken to ensure that the document is approved as an official EQuiP position statement.

Aim:

The objective of this workshop is to foster consensus among the current members of EQuiP regarding the insights gained from the PRICOV-19 data, specifically in relation to the organization and quality of primary care, and to develop recommendations for enhancing future preparedness in this field. By facilitating this discussion, the workshop aims to make a meaningful contribution to the ongoing refinement of the existing draft version of the EQuiP position statement. Ultimately, the insights and recommendations generated through this workshop will be instrumental in securing the statement's final approval and acceptance by conference attendees.

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