Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27343274›Full record

ArticleBMJ quality & safety2017

Extended opening hours and patient experience of general practice in England: multilevel regression analysis of a national patient survey.

Thomas E Cowling, Matthew Harris, Azeem Majeed

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ quality & safety, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
  2. Article
  3. Observational
  4. Changes in patient experience associated with growth and collaboration in general practice: observational study using data from the UK GP Patient Survey.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2020
    Observational
  5. Observational
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Thomas E CowlingDepartment of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Matthew HarrisCentre for Health Policy, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Azeem MajeedDepartment of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.

Funding

Department of Health DRF-2013-06-142
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe UK government plans to extend the opening hours of general practices in England. The 'extended hours access scheme' pays practices for providing appointments outside core times (08:00 to 18.30, Monday to Friday) for at least 30 min per 1000 registered patients each week.

objectiveTo determine the association between extended hours access scheme participation and patient experience.

methodsRetrospective analysis of a national cross-sectional survey completed by questionnaire (General Practice Patient Survey 2013-2014); 903 357 survey respondents aged ≥18 years old and registered to 8005 general practices formed the study population. Outcome measures were satisfaction with opening hours, experience of making an appointment and overall experience (on five-level interval scales from 0 to 100). Mean differences between scheme participation groups were estimated using multilevel random-effects regression, propensity score matching and instrumental variable analysis.

resultsMost patients were very (37.2%) or fairly satisfied (42.7%) with the opening hours of their general practices; results were similar for experience of making an appointment and overall experience. Most general practices participated in the extended hours access scheme (73.9%). Mean differences in outcome measures between scheme participants and non-participants were positive but small across estimation methods (mean differences ≤1.79). For example, scheme participation was associated with a 1.25 (95% CI 0.96 to 1.55) increase in satisfaction with opening hours using multilevel regression; this association was slightly greater when patients could not take time off work to see a general practitioner (2.08, 95% CI 1.53 to 2.63).

conclusionsParticipation in the extended hours access scheme has a limited association with three patient experience measures. This questions expected impacts of current plans to extend opening hours on patient experience.

Indexed as

Health Services AccessibilityPractice Management, MedicalEnglandGeneral PracticeGeneral PractitionersHealth PolicyHumansPrimary Health CareRegression AnalysisSurveys and QuestionnairesGeneral practiceHealth policyHealth services researchPatient satisfactionPrimary care

Identifiers

PMID27343274
PMCPMC5530331

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.