Continuity of care is a significant issue, especially if you're dealing with patients with chronic conditions who have to bring the GP up to speed in the 7-10 minute consulting slot as opposed to having a GP with domain knowledge which allows them to maintain a single course.
Differences of approach, opinion and manner can be detrimental in long term treatment.
These are all soft things - there's no hard "2 is worse than 1" - for the majority of patients it will make no difference as most people see the doctor once or twice a year, but for chronic patients it could be a serious issue.
I get continuity of care for my ongoing issues, and my doctor is jobsharing. I get continuity of care for my parental concerns, and my health visitor is part-time. I got fantastic continuity of care from my midwife, last pregnancy,and she was part-time too. It does mean sometimes waiting for an appointment with the person you want to see, but for ongoing issues, that's perfectly normal; only a certain proportion of the appointment slots are bookable ahead of time anyway. I sometimes book my next appointment during the one I'm having.
In general, the part-time GPs seem less inclined to rush me out the door than the full-time ones, but this could be just because the female GPs are less inclined to rush me out the door than the male ones; there are no part-time male GPs at my surgery. I've learned to book an appointment for myself and a child at the same time if I want to see one of the male GPs; that way we can spill over into each others' time and get at least one of us properly dealt with.
i have one chronic and one acute medical condition and i have no problem with continuity of care. my GP is part time, as are all but one of the GPs in our practice. i know the days my GP works, and the only time i don't see her is when she's on holiday, or if i need an emergency appointment. there are 4 doctors in the practice, but information sharing is a big part of their ethos, and i've never had a problem with needing to repeat huge chunks of my life. it's not a serious issue in my experience.
Yeah, when My GP went on maternity leave I was upset, because I hate repeating chunks of information, but I discovered that she had actually DONE that FOR me ahead of time, so it wasn't an issue. She has also written a lovely summary for my notes, so whoever I see can get to grips with the situation quickly.
I go to an office with 2 doctors. When I make the appointment, I make it with a specific doctor. Why would it be different because the doctors are part-time?
I have a minor chronic condition, and a practice where all the - male - doctors are part time. Zero impact as far as I can see.
What really changed my quality of life was when they got rid of the bow-tie wearing cretin who insisted on perscribing me barbituates instead of anti-depressants. Cause, like, suicide is such a minor risk compared to the potential side effects of Seroxat. Fucktard.
Put it this way: I had been on Seroxat for about 10 months at that point, and was still alive. He made me go cold turkey and gave me 24 sleeping pills to do it with.
That would be incredible if it weren't so believable. I'm slack-jawed and openmouthed.
Srsly, indeed.
(I was given Seroxat at 16; the next time I felt so near to death, I was suffering undiagnosed, unmedicated PND/PTSD beat combo. I stopped taking Seroxat and was declared non-compliant. Good times. Thank heavens for my mother.)
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-04 04:53 pm (UTC)Differences of approach, opinion and manner can be detrimental in long term treatment.
These are all soft things - there's no hard "2 is worse than 1" - for the majority of patients it will make no difference as most people see the doctor once or twice a year, but for chronic patients it could be a serious issue.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-04 05:04 pm (UTC)In general, the part-time GPs seem less inclined to rush me out the door than the full-time ones, but this could be just because the female GPs are less inclined to rush me out the door than the male ones; there are no part-time male GPs at my surgery. I've learned to book an appointment for myself and a child at the same time if I want to see one of the male GPs; that way we can spill over into each others' time and get at least one of us properly dealt with.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-04 06:43 pm (UTC)there are 4 doctors in the practice, but information sharing is a big part of their ethos, and i've never had a problem with needing to repeat huge chunks of my life. it's not a serious issue in my experience.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-04 07:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-04 07:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-04 07:24 pm (UTC)What really changed my quality of life was when they got rid of the bow-tie wearing cretin who insisted on perscribing me barbituates instead of anti-depressants. Cause, like, suicide is such a minor risk compared to the potential side effects of Seroxat. Fucktard.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-04 07:29 pm (UTC)(Or maybe was, since they no longer prescribe it to under-18s).
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-04 07:46 pm (UTC)I wasn't under 18, but dude, srsly!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-04 08:00 pm (UTC)Srsly, indeed.
(I was given Seroxat at 16; the next time I felt so near to death, I was suffering undiagnosed, unmedicated PND/PTSD beat combo. I stopped taking Seroxat and was declared non-compliant. Good times. Thank heavens for my mother.)