ArticleBMC family practice2015
Clinical inertia in general practice, a matter of debate: a qualitative study with 114 general practitioners in Belgium.
Article in BMC family practice, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Three-year adherence to secondary prevention and vascular risk control after ischemic stroke.European stroke journal · 2026Article
- The relevance of phenotypic definition in treatment resistant forms of major depressive disorder: a narrative review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Awareness and barriers of sacral neuromodulation in women with overactive bladder.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2024Article
- Unravelling the Belgian cascade of hypertension care and its determinants: insights from a cross-sectional analysis.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Therapeutic Inertia in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes: A Narrative Review.Diabetes therapy : research, treatment and education of diabetes and related disorders · 2024Review
- Implementation of Primary Palliative Care in five Belgian regions: A qualitative study on early identification of palliative care needs by general practitioners.The European journal of general practice · 2020Article
- Predicting Incident Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Model Designed for Health Systems of Care.Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy · 2020Article
- Geographies of asthma medication purchase for pre-schoolers in Belgium.Respiratory research · 2019Article
- Clinical Inertia in Type 2 Diabetes Patients in Primary Health Care Clinics in Central Bosnia.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2018Article
- Gaps and barriers in the control of blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes.Diabetes & vascular disease research · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundPrescribing that is not concordant with guidelines is increasingly referred to as clinical inertia (CI). However, CI may be only apparent, and the absence of decision may actually reflect appropriate inaction as a result of good clinical reasoning. Our study aimed to: (i) elucidate GPs' beliefs regarding CI and the risk of CI in their own practice, (ii) identify modifiable provider-related factors associated with CI.
methodsWe conducted 8 group interviews with 114 general practitioners (GP) in Belgium, and used an integrated approach of thematic analysis.
resultsOur results call for a redefinition of CI, in order to take into account the GPs' extended health-promoting role, and acknowledge that inaction or delayed action follows a process of clinical reasoning that takes into account the patients' preferences, and that is appropriate most of the time. However, the participants in our study did acknowledge that the risk of CI exists in practice. The main factor of such a risk is when GPs feel overwhelmed and disempowered, due to characteristics of either the patients or the health care system, including contradictions between guidelines and reimbursement policies.
conclusionsAlthough situations of clinical inertia exist in practice and need to be prevented or corrected, the term clinical inertia could potentially increase the already existing gap between general practice and specialised care, whereas sustained efforts toward more collaborative work and integrated care are called for.
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