Abstract
Purpose
General practitioners (GPs) and occupational health physicians (OPs) have several overlapping work fields, such as important functions in prevention, rehabilitation and reintegration into the workplace. In Germany, however, cooperation between GP and OP is often lacking or suboptimal. In this article, we analysed the suggestions for optimisation of cooperation.
Methods
Three focus groups were interviewed: GP, OP and medical doctors working in both fields. A qualitative content analysis was performed.
Results
Categories of suggestions could be assigned to five issues: the “Systemic View” concerning the state and/or employer (e.g. the system of remuneration for GPs), “Inter-collegial Contact” (e.g. fostering “friendly exchanges” between both groups), “Medical Education” (e.g. introducing joint quality circles), “Contents of both Specialities” (e.g. necessity of communicating respective contents and competences), and “Patient-centred Care” (e.g. reintegration into workplace after longer periods of illness). The optimisation of cooperation was considered necessary by the OPs, whereas its necessity was sometimes questioned in the GPs’ group.
Conclusion
In many aspects, the present data agree with results of studies from other countries addressing the cooperation between GPs and OPs and/or other specialists. Many suggestions obtained in this study are practical and could be implemented into daily routine. Future quantitative research is required to better assess the relative weight of the suggestions presented here.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank all the participants of the focus groups. The work of the Institute of Occupational and Social Medicine and Health Services Research Tübingen is supported by an unrestricted grant from the employers’ association of the metal and electric industry in Baden-Württemberg (Südwestmetall). The present work was financed within this grant and by the resources of the Division of General Practice, University Hospital Tübingen, and of the Competence Centre of General Practice and the Competence Centre of Occupational and Social Preventive Medicine and Women’s Health Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The authors thank Peter Lenco (Canada) for the language check of the submitted manuscript and Paul Kahle (USA) for the language check of the revised manuscript.
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Moßhammer, D., Natanzon, I., Manske, I. et al. Cooperation between general practitioners and occupational health physicians in Germany: how can it be optimised? A qualitative study. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 87, 137–146 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-013-0845-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-013-0845-1