Influence of practice location on prescribing, diabetes care, and colorectal cancer screening among Czech general practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The provision of primary health care was not interrupted during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, even though in Czechia, although the capacity and resources of providers changed. We examined how the pandemic affected individual general practices throughout 2017-2021, focusing on differences between urban and rural practices. MethodsWe analysed data from the largest health insurance company in Czechia, which provides care to 4.5 million people (60% of the population). We evaluated the prescription volume, diabetes care procedures, Fecal Immunochemical Testand faecal immunochemical test (FIT) in preventive care and new pandemic-related procedures (remote consultations, testing, and vaccinations). For the spatial distribution of practices, we used our own typology based onadapted the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) typology. ResultsWe observed minimal declines in 2020 in the rate of prescribing (-1%) and diabetes care (-5.1%)%), with a rapid resumption in 2021, but high drops fora substantial decline in FIT (-17.8% in 2020) with slow resumption. Remote consultations were used by 94% of all practices regardless of location, with testing and vaccinations more commonly performed by rural General Practitioners (GPs).general practitioners.메모 포함[A1]: Please note that the spelling was adjusted to the UK variant here in keeping with what seemed to be a general intention to use UK English spellings throughout the text. 메모 포함[A2R1]:We agree with the modification 메모 포함[A3]: As a minor explanatory note, "adapted" (unlike "adopted") inherently conveys the idea that modifications were made, allowing this idea to be expressed more concisely. An alternative verb option could be "modified." 메모 포함[A4R3]:We agree with the modification E p u ba h e a d o f p r i n t 2 ConclusionsPrimary care in Czechia stood uprose to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic when in most of the monitored parameters,, as shown by the finding that the volume of healthcare services provided through primary care did not decrease. It across most of the monitored parameters. This study also confirmed that rural GPs provide more care in-house, both in terms of prescribing and procedures performed in their practices. In the future, the focusFuture studies will need to befocus on preventive care, which the pandemic has dampened in GP practices in Czechia.