Economic influences on GPs' decisions to provide out-of-hours care

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Introduction of the new general medical services contract offered UK general practices the option to discontinue providing out-of-hours (OOH) care. This aimed to improve GP recruitment and retention by offering a better work-life balance, but put primary care organisations under pressure to ensure sustainable delivery of these services. Many organisations arranged this by re-purchasing provision from individual GPs. AIM: To analyse which factors influence an individual GP's decision to re-provide OOH care when their practice has opted out. DESIGN OF STUDY: Cross-sectional questionnaire survey. SETTING: Rural and urban general practices in Scotland, UK. METHOD: A postal survey was..