Revealing administrative staff roles in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study of family physicians' perspectives.

Background: Administrative staff in primary care undertake numerous tasks to support patient care delivery. Although their roles are often overlooked, administrative staff are essential to the coordination and operations of primary care clinics. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced additional clinical and administrative tasks, including transitioning to virtual appointments and triaging patients for urgency, changing typical workflows.

Resident and supervisor perceptions of gaining obstetrical competency in Family Medicine: a qualitative descriptive study.

Introduction: Canadian Family Medicine (FM) residents, upon graduation, are disinclined to provide intrapartum care. The FM resident experience with obstetrical training has not been studied in over a decade while the FM landscape has changed. This study explored the FM resident experience in working towards their obstetrical competencies as one of the chief influences on their career decision to provide intrapartum care or not.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical office assistants (MOAs) Working in Primary Care: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Medical Office Assistants (MOAs), also known as receptionists and clerks, are front line workers and the most accessible member of the primary care team. Historically, their contributions to primary care have been unrecognised and undervalued. The COVID-19 pandemic put pressure on existing roles and systems in primary care: how MOAs adapted is unknown.

Fifty Years of Connection: Characterizing the Social Network of a Primary Care Research Organization.

Purpose: This study marks the 50th anniversary of NAPCRG (formerly the North American Primary Care Research Group) by examining social connections among members.

Methods: This descriptive social network analysis was conducted via the Program to Analyze, Record, and Track Networks to Enhance Relationships (PARTNER) survey tool.

Results: Responses from 906 participants resulted in 1,721 individuals with 5,196 partner relationships.

A qualitative examination of the experiences and perspectives of interprofessional primary health care teams in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccination in Ontario, Canada.

Background: Primary health care (PHC) teams contributed to all phases of the COVID-19 vaccination distribution. However, there has been criticism for not fully utilizing the expertise and infrastructure of PHC teams for vaccination distribution. Our study sought to understand the role PHC teams had in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in Ontario, Canada.

A qualitative examination of primary care team's participation in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccination.

Background: Primary health care (PHC) has historically led and implemented successful immunization programs, driven by strong relationships with patients and communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada began its vaccination strategy with mass immunizations that later included local efforts with PHC providers. This study seeks to understand how PHC contributed to the different phases of the COVID-19 vaccination rollouts in Ontario, Canada's most populous province.

Pharmacists' role and experiences with delivering mental health care within team-based primary care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: Pharmacists have been increasingly integrated into primary care teams, leading to improved health outcomes for patients. The two objectives of this study were (i) to describe how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted pharmacists' role in mental health care within Canadian primary care teams and (ii) to describe Canadian pharmacists' experiences collaborating with other healthcare providers in the delivery of mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Cross-sectional observational study utilizing an online survey consisting of closed-ended and open-ended questions.

Primary Care Research: Looking Back and Moving Forward With Reflections on NAPCRG's First 50 Years.

NAPCRG celebrated 50 years of leadership and service at its 2022 meeting. A varied team of primary care investigators, clinicians, learners, patients, and community members reflected on the organization's past, present, and future. Started in 1972 by a small group of general practice researchers in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, NAPCRG has evolved into an international, interprofessional, interdisciplinary, and intergenerational group devoted to improving health and health care through primary care research.

Primary care engagement in health system change: a scoping review of common barriers and effective strategies.

Background: The complexity of health systems necessitates coordination between a multitude of stakeholders to enact meaningful change. Primary care physicians are a crucial partner to engage, as their investment and participation are critical to the success of any system-level initiative. The aim of this scoping review is to identify common barriers and effective strategies when engaging primary care physicians in designing and implementing health system change.

Understanding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the care experiences of people with mental-physical multimorbidity: protocol for a mixed methods study.

Background: Primary care and other health services have been disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the consequences of these service disruptions on patients' care experiences remain largely unstudied. People with mental-physical multimorbidity are vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic, and to sudden service disruptions. It is thus essential to better understand how their care experiences have been impacted by the current pandemic.

The Benefits and Challenges of Precepting Pharmacy Students Virtually in Interprofessional Primary Care Teams.

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify pharmacists' perspectives on the benefits and challenges of precepting pharmacy students during circumstances that require using virtual care in team-based primary care practices.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was disseminated through Qualtrics software from July 5, 2021, to October 13, 2021. We used a convenience sampling technique to recruit a sample of pharmacists working in primary care teams across Ontario, Canada, who were able to complete a web-based survey in English.

"There's nothing like a good crisis for innovation": a qualitative study of family physicians' experiences with virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Prior to the pandemic, Canada lagged behind other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries in the uptake of virtual care. The onset of COVID-19, however, resulted in a near-universal shift to virtual primary care to minimise exposure risks. As jurisdictions enter a pandemic recovery phase, the balance between virtual and in-person visits is reverting, though it is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence Use in Primary Care: A Qualitative Study with Providers and Staff of Ontario Community Health Centres.

Purpose: To understand staff and health care providers' views on potential use of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools to help care for patients within a primary care setting.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative descriptive study using individual semistructured interviews. As part of province-wide Learning Health Organization, Community Health Centres (CHCs) are a community-governed, team-based delivery model providing primary care for people who experience marginalization in Ontario, Canada.

Qualitative examination of collaboration in team-based primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe Ontario primary care teams' experiences with collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive qualitative methods using focus groups conducted virtually for data collection.

Setting: Primary care teams located in Ontario, Canada.

Virtual family physician care during COVID-19: a mixed methods study using health administrative data and qualitative interviews.

Background: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid shift in primary health care from predominantly in-person to high volumes of virtual care. The pandemic afforded the opportunity to conduct a deep regional examination of virtual care by family physicians in London and Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada that would inform the foundation for virtual care in our region post-pandemic.

Objectives: (1) to determine volumes of in-person and virtual family physicians visits and characteristics of the family physicians and patients using them during the early COVID-19 pandemic; (2) to determine how virtual visit volumes changed over the pandemic, compared to in-person; and (3) to explore family physicians' experience in virtual visit adoption and implementation.

The impact of funding models on the integration of registered nurses in primary health care teams: protocol for a multi-phase mixed-methods study in Canada.

Background: Family practice registered nurses co-managing patient care as healthcare professionals in interdisciplinary primary care teams have been shown to improve access, continuity of care, patient satisfaction, and clinical outcomes for patients with chronic diseases while being cost-effective. Currently, however, it is unclear how different funding models support or hinder the integration of family practice nurses into existing primary health care systems and interdisciplinary practices. This has resulted in the underutilisation of family practice nurses in contributing to high-quality patient care.

Is primary health care ready for artificial intelligence? What do primary health care stakeholders say?

Background: Effective deployment of AI tools in primary health care requires the engagement of practitioners in the development and testing of these tools, and a match between the resulting AI tools and clinical/system needs in primary health care. To set the stage for these developments, we must gain a more in-depth understanding of the views of practitioners and decision-makers about the use of AI in primary health care. The objective of this study was to identify key issues regarding the use of AI tools in primary health care by exploring the views of primary health care and digital health stakeholders.

Family physician leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic: roles, functions and key supports.

Purpose: Strong leadership in primary care is necessary to coordinate an effective pandemic response; however, descriptions of leadership roles for family physicians are absent from previous pandemic plans. This study aims to describe the leadership roles and functions family physicians played during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada and identify supports and barriers to formalizing these roles in future pandemic plans.

Design/methodology/approach: This study conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with family physicians across four regions in Canada as part of a multiple case study.

Complex skills are required for new primary health care researchers: a training program responds.

Background: Current dimensions of the primary health care research (PHC) context, including the need for contextualized research methods to address complex questions, and the co-creation of knowledge through partnerships with stakeholders - require PHC researchers to have a comprehensive set of skills for engaging effectively in high impact research.

Main Body: In 2002 we developed a unique program to respond to these needs - Transdisciplinary Understanding and Training on Research - Primary Health Care (TUTOR-PHC). The program's goals are to train a cadre of PHC researchers, clinicians, and decision makers in interdisciplinary research to aid them in tackling current and future challenges in PHC and in leading collaborative interdisciplinary research teams.

The Alliance for Healthier Communities as a Learning Health System for primary care: A qualitative analysis in Ontario, Canada.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: A learning health system model can be used to efficiently evaluate and incorporate evidence-based care into practice. However, there is a paucity of evidence describing key organizational attributes needed to ensure a successful learning health system within primary care. We interviewed stakeholders for a primary care learning health system in Ontario, Canada (the Alliance for Healthier Communities) to identify strengths and areas for improvement.

Connecting artificial intelligence and primary care challenges: findings from a multi stakeholder collaborative consultation.

Unlabelled: Despite widespread advancements in and envisioned uses for artificial intelligence (AI), few examples of successfully implemented AI innovations exist in primary care (PC) settings.

Objectives: To identify priority areas for AI and PC in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: A collaborative consultation event engaged multiple stakeholders in a nominal group technique process to generate, discuss and rank ideas for how AI can support Ontario PC.