Frequency and severity of problems that general practitioners experience regarding sickness certification

Abstract

A majority of the GPs found sickness certification problematic. Most problems were related to professional competence in insurance medicine. Better possibilities to develop, maintain, and practise such professionalism are warranted.

Problems experienced by gynecologists/obstetricians in sickness certification consultations

“…A larger proportion of the younger gynecologists/obstetricians stated that it was very or fairly problematic to handle all specified situations, such as when the physician and the patient had different opinions about the need for sick leave, compared with the older gynecologists/obstetricians. This is in line with findings in studies concerning physicians in other specialties . It could be presumed that in general, older age is equal to more professional experience.…”

Sickness certification difficulties in Ireland--a GP focus group study

“…These results support findings from previous studies reporting problems with sickness certification and highlight the conflicting role of GP 'gatekeeping' in sickness certification [3][4][5], the desire to maintain a positive doctor-patient therapeutic alliance [6] and problems with communication, lack of support and rehabilitation opportunities [7,8]. This study was small and the findings cannot be generalized, but it identified cultural and process aspects of sickness certification not previously described in an Irish context.…”

Registered nurses’ work with sick leave questions by telephone in primary health care

“…GPs present similar numbers regarding consultations involving sickness certification at least once a week (Engblom et al . ). The practice among these RNs seems not to be to give information about social insurance rules; this contradicts the fact that giving advice and information and coordinating and facilitating are commonly seen as the main tasks in telephone nursing (Wahlberg et al .…”