Moving forward after the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned in primary care from the multi-country PRICOV-19 study

• Published in: European Journal of General Practice
• Main Authors: Sara Willems, Pierre Vanden Bussche, Esther Van Poel, Claire Collins, Zalika Klemenc-Ketis
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024
• Subjects: Primary care; COVID-19; quality of care; future-proofing; health service capacity & resilience; Medicine (General); R5-920; Iceland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/13814788.2024.2328716; https://doaj.org/article/ce02188ec4d8419f97835236a1275df8

AbstractBackground The COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the indispensable role of primary care. Objectives: Recognising this, the PRICOV-19 study investigated how 5,489 GP practices across 38 countries (Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo*, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and United Kingdom) adapted their care delivery during the pandemic.Methods Based on a series of discussions on the results of the PRICOV-19 study group, eight recommendations to enhance primary care’s preparedness for future crises were formulated and endorsed by EQuiP and WONCA Europe.Results The recommendations underscore the importance of recognising and sustaining the substantial strides made in patient safety within GP practices during the pandemic in current daily practices; acknowledging and supporting the pivotal role of GP practices in addressing health inequalities during crises; adopting interprofessional care models to enhance practices’ resilience and adaptability to change; supporting training practices; creating healthy working environments; investing in infrastructure that supports adequate and safe care; and increasing funding for research on patient safety and primary care quality to inform evidence-based health policies and fostering international knowledge exchange among healthcare professionals and policymakers.Conclusion Policymakers, primary care associations, and the broader healthcare system are urged to collaboratively take responsibility and increase support for GP practices to enhance their resilience, adaptability, and capacity to deliver safe and equitable healthcare during future crises.