Regional differences in the patient population of general practices in northern Germany: results of a mixed-methods study.

Objectives: The aim of our study was to explore patient types in general practitioner (GP) practices and to quantify the regional differences of the frequencies of these patient types in northern Germany.

Design And Setting: We conducted a mixed-methods study based on focus groups and standardised interviews with GPs. All counties and independent cities within a radius of 120 km around Hamburg were assigned one of three regional categories (urban areas, environs, rural areas).

Regional and patient-related factors influencing the willingness to use general practitioners as coordinators of the treatment in northern Germany - results of a cross-sectional observational study.

Background: In most countries, the general practitioner (GP) is the first point of contact in the healthcare system and coordinator of healthcare. However, in Germany it is possible to consult an outpatient specialist even without referral. Coordination by a GP might thus reduce health expenditures and inequalities in the healthcare system.

Regional differences in reasons for consultation and general practitioners' spectrum of services in northern Germany - results of a cross-sectional observational study.

Background: Among other factors, the patients' consultation reasons and GPs' spectrum of services determine the process and outcome of the medical treatment. So far, however, there has been little information on differences in reasons for consultation and GPs' services between urban and rural areas. Our study's goal was thus to investigate these factors in relation to the regional location of GPs' practices.

[Patients with chronic diseases in emergency rooms in Germany : Cross-sectional analysis of consultations, reasons for use, and discharge diagnosis].

Background: The number of patients in emergency rooms without a medical emergency is increasing. Outpatient services for mutual support and relief between the in-patient and out-patient sector are not yet fully established.

Aim Of The Work: The aim was to determine the extent to which patients in emergency rooms have real medical emergencies by comparing patients with at least two and those with a maximum of one chronic illness.

Patients Attending Emergency Departments.

Background: The number of patients in emergency departments has risen steadily in recent years, with a particular increase in patients not requiring urgent treatment. The aim of this study is to characterize this group of patients with respect to their sociodemographic features, health status, and reasons for attending an emergency department.

Methods: PiNo Nord is a cross-sectional observational study representing two full working weeks in five different hospitals.

Factors associated with general practitioners' awareness of depression in primary care patients with heart failure: baseline-results from the observational RECODE-HF study.

Background: Depression is more prevalent in patients with heart failure (HF) than in those without, but its detection is complicated by the symptom overlap between the two diseases. General practitioners (GPs) are the first point of contact for patients with HF. Therefore, this study aims to investigate GPs' awareness of depression in their HF patients and factors associated with this awareness.