Observational studyBMJ open2020
How primary healthcare in Iceland swiftly changed its strategy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Observational study in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Ten pressure points in primary care during COVID-19: findings from an international narrative review.BMC primary care · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Article
- Family health coverage and care reorganization during the COVID-19 pandemic.Revista latino-americana de enfermagem · 2026Article
- Article
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antibiotic prescription rates in out-of-hours primary care - a register-based study in Denmark.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2025Article
- Uses of Virtual Care in Primary Care: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on Primary Healthcare Research: Trends and Suggestions for Better Services Approaches Via Blockchain Based Applications.Blockchain in healthcare today · 2025Article
- The Added Value of Using Video in Out-of-Hours Primary Care Telephone Triage Among General Practitioners: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.JMIR human factors · 2024Article
- Prevalence and factors associated with burnout among primary health-care workers in China during COVID-19: a national survey.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Strategies to strengthen the resilience of primary health care in the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Use of Video in Telephone Triage in Out-of-Hours Primary Care: Register-Based Study.JMIR medical informatics · 2024Article
- Primary care gatekeeping during the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey of 1234 Norwegian regular GPs.BJGP open · 2024Article
- Behavioural determinants shaping infection prevention and control behaviour among healthcare workers in Dutch general practices: a qualitative study reflecting on pre-, during and post-COVID-19 pandemic.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- The association between municipal pandemic response and COVID-19 contacts to emergency primary health care services: an observational study.BMC health services research · 2023Observational
- General Practitioners' Experiences With Potentials and Pitfalls of Video Consultations in Norway During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Qualitative Analysis of Free-Text Survey Answers.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Experiences and management strategies of Norwegian GPs during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal interview study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2023Article
- Roles and challenges of primary healthcare workers: lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2023Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the care of rare and undiagnosed diseases patients in France: a longitudinal population-based study.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2022Article
- Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Led to Changes in the Tasks of the Primary Care Workforce? An International Survey among General Practices in 38 Countries (PRICOV-19).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo describe how the primary healthcare (PHC) in Iceland changed its strategy to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.
designDescriptive observational study.
settingReykjavik, the capital of Iceland. POPULATION: The Reykjavik area has a total of 233 000 inhabitants.
main outcome measuresThe number and the mode of consultations carried out. Drug prescriptions and changes in the 10 most common diagnoses made in PHC. Laboratory tests including COVID-19 tests. Average numbers in March and April 2020 compared with the same months in 2018 and 2019.
resultsPragmatic strategies and new tasks were rapidly applied to the clinical work to meet the foreseen healthcare needs caused by the pandemic. The number of daytime consultations increased by 35% or from 780 to 1051/1000 inhabitants (p<0.001) during the study period. Telephone and web-based consultations increased by 127% (p<0.001). The same tendency was observed in out-of-hours services. The number of consultations in maternity and well-child care decreased only by 4% (p=0.003). Changes were seen in the 10 most common diagnoses. Most noteworthy, apart from a high number of COVID-19 suspected disease, was that immunisation, depression, hypothyroidism and lumbago were not among the top 10 diagnoses during the epidemic period. The number of drug prescriptions increased by 10.3% (from 494 to 545 per 1000 inhabitants, p<0.001). The number of prescriptions from telephone and web-based consultations rose by 55.6%. No changes were observed in antibiotics prescriptions.
conclusionsAs the first point of contact in the COVID-19 pandemic, the PHC in Iceland managed to change its strategy swiftly while preserving traditional maternity and well-child care, indicating a very solid PHC with substantial flexibility in its organisation.
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