Abstract
BackgroundIn the approximately 35 years since family medicine was established in South Korea, family medicine physicians have sought to expand their expertise to cover clinical fields beyond primary medicine. This study examines their working status and compares the working conditions of family medicine physicians in clinics and hospitals in Korea.MethodsWe conducted an online survey with 4057 family medicine physicians in Korea in 2016. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics.ResultsOf the respondents, 572 doctors were working in clinics and 441 in hospitals. In the analysis of treatment pattern by doctors, the rate of chronic disease management was 84.7% in clinics and 93.4% in hospitals (p < 0.001), and the rate of diseases covered by national insurance was 74.8% in clinics and 76.9% in hospitals (p = 0.005). Among physicians younger than 40 years, the rate of chronic disease management and diseases covered by national insurance were 64.6 and 68.0% in clinics and 93.6 and 78.5% in hospitals, retrospectively.ConclusionsFamily medicine physicians working in hospitals have higher rates of chronic disease management and diseases covered by national insurance. This discrepancy of treatment pattern became larger for doctors younger than 40 years. More in-depth studies of the treatment pattern and its tendencies between family medicine physicians in clinics and hospitals are needed in the future.
Highlights
In the approximately 35 years since family medicine was established in South Korea, family medicine physicians have sought to expand their expertise to cover clinical fields beyond primary medicine
This study examines the current working status of family medicine physicians and compares the working conditions of physicians working in clinics and hospitals
Chronic disease management was assessed by the question, “Have you provided treatment of chronic disease such as diabetes and hypertension for patients?”; diseases covered by national insurance by “Indicate the percentage of your patients covered by national health insurance”; and patient age groups by “What proportions of your patients are younger than 18, aged 19– 64, and older than 65?” For working conditions, working days per week and working nights per week were asked, with the night shift deemed as starting from 18:30
Summary
In the approximately 35 years since family medicine was established in South Korea, family medicine physicians have sought to expand their expertise to cover clinical fields beyond primary medicine. This study examines their working status and compares the working conditions of family medicine physicians in clinics and hospitals in Korea. Because of competition with other clinics and the absence of insurance coverage ensuring continuity, comprehensiveness, and family care in the medical system, the function of primary medicine as a gatekeeper has been weakened. This study examines the current working status of family medicine physicians and compares the working conditions of physicians working in clinics and hospitals
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