Perceived value of the Physician in Practice Clinic approach to patients

Abstract

The Physician in Practice Clinic (PIPC) is an innovative local approach to the management of chronic disease. Expectations are that improved patient outcomes will result in the long term due to easier service access for patients and reduced waiting lists. A mail survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data from the participating patients, General Practitioners (GPs) and Endocrinologist to assess the nature of benefits of PIPC to the patients. Questionnaires were mailed to 71 patients and 35 responded (45%). Fifteen GPs and one Endocrinologist were interviewed in face-to-face interviews. The patients indicated that the PIPC model has many positive aspects such as it is convenient, comfortable, less time consuming, less costly, there is problem-free parking at the clinic, less waiting time, quick to call to see the GPs and more opportunities to ask questions and get clarifications. Similarly, the Endocrinologist and GPs believe that PIPC offers multiple benefits to patients. The PIPC model was shown to provide enormous benefits to the patients. Therefore, this model of service delivery needs to be continued to serve the patients well.