Good teamwork among primary care staff can increase the number of follow-up visits from people living with chronic conditions, new evidence has claimed.
A recent study has revealed that inviting people with chronic conditions for consistent follow-up appointments is critical.
Researchers have now examined high-performing clinics to identify what strategies they use to ensure adults with chronic conditions are offered frequent follow-up visits.
Throughout the trial, they looked at semi-structured interviews from 12 clinics, with half having a high number of patients attending follow-ups consistently and the other half having a consistent low number.
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A total of 15 primary care physicians, 12 nurses, 15 administrative staff and four pharmacists were interviewed.
High-performing clinics had better team-based strategies compared to the low-performing clinics, the study has reported.
Clinics performed better when less hierarchical staff were also involved in the decision-making process, the research has revealed.
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According to the results, high-performing clinics had a clearer system for ‘no show’ patients, outlining the responsibilities of how the administrative staff should firstly reach out to patients and how the team should end by recruiting the help of patients’ family members.
Other strategies that improve a clinic’s follow-up rate include consulting social workers, routine staff meetings, assisting patients with bureaucracy and adaptive workflows, the researchers have revealed.
The study said: “This study highlights how team-based strategies, including structured follow-up systems, proactive patient outreach and interdisciplinary collaboration, can improve regular follow-up for patients with chronic conditions.”
Read the study here.
