"Meet and greets" in family practice: Who, why, and to what end?

Objective: To understand physician acceptance of new patients, specifically the use of "meet and greets"; and to explore FPs' rationale, beliefs, and processes regarding these appointments.

Design: Exploratory qualitative interviews.

Setting: Nova Scotia.

Participants: A purposive sample of 12 FPs who had previously participated in the Models and Access to Primary Care Providers in Nova Scotia study.

Methods: In-depth, semistructured, 1-on-1 qualitative interviews. Interview transcripts were coded using Atlas.ti and analyzed for typologies and common themes regarding accepting practices.

Main Findings: Four typologies of accepting practices emerged: no form of meet and greet; nonscreening meet and greet to gather a history; meet and greet to assess alignment of patient needs and provider scope; and meet and greet to screen out undesirable patients. Typology 1 was subdivided: accepting first-come, first-served and accepting with previous patient knowledge. Rationale for each varied. Family physicians employing typologies 1 and 2 emphasized the importance of equitable access to primary care. Family physicians employing typologies 3 and 4 highlighted the challenges of meeting the needs of specific populations within the context of professional and systemic constraints.

Conclusion: Meet and greets before accepting new patients are purposed differently across providers. Some FPs incorporate these meetings ethically; others present challenges to the principles of equity and nondiscrimination. Policy implications exist for how providers admit new patients and what resources might support more equitable access.