Table 5.
Care provided within consultations and patient intentions for managing future illnesses. Values are numbers (percentages) of patients unless stated otherwise
| General Practitioner (n=716) | Nurse Practitioner (n=652) | Odds ratio (95% CI)* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment action | |||
| Prescription issued | 434 (63) | 407 (63) | 1.01 (0.80 to 1.28) |
| Investigation ordered | 73 (11) | 80 (12) | 0.83 (0.58 to 1.16) |
| Referred | 34 (5) | 33 (5) | 0.96† (0.58 to 1.57) |
| Follow up advised‡ | 168 (25) | 222 (35) | 0.11 (0.03 to 0.37) to 1.41 (0.71 to 2.80) |
| Reconsulted for same problem | 182 (29) | 177 (31) | 0.91 (0.70 to 1.17) |
| Provision of information | |||
| Cause of illness | 491 (72) | 501 (81) | 0.58 (0.44 to 0.76) |
| Relief of symptoms | 467 (68) | 548 (86) | 0.32 (0.24 to 0.43) |
| Duration of illness‡ | 388 (57) | 404 (64) | 0.34 (0.14 to 0.84) to 2.38 (0.79 to 7.14) |
| How to reduce chance of recurrence‡ | 139 (21) | 205 (34) | 0.19 (0.09 to 0.38) to 1.57 (0.46 to 5.23) |
| What to do if problem persists | 604 (88) | 584 (93) | 0.61 (0.41 to 0.90) |
| Intentions for future treatment | |||
| Treat self | 48 (10) | 50 (11) | — |
| Consult general practitioner‡ | 364 (73) | 211 (48) | 0.76 (0.10 to 5.48) to 11.94 (2.11 to 67.3) |
| Consult nurse | 38 (8) | 139 (32) | — |
| Other | 48 (10) | 37 (9) | — |
| Length of consultation (min) | |||
| No of patients | 648 | 639 | — |
| Median (interquartile range) | 6 (4-8) | 10 (7-14) | — |
| Median (interquartile range) excluding breaks | NA | 8 (6-11) | — |
*
Adjusted for general practice.
†
Because of small number of referrals it was not possible to adjust for general practice.
‡
Range reported because odds ratios varied significantly across practices.