Ensuring Primary Care in Germany—findings from a Quantitative Survey of General Practitioners

Background. Given the risk of a shortage of general practitioners in private practice, the question arises as to which concepts can make an effective contribution. To date, there is a lack of studies that comprehensively shed light on how general practitioners, based on their professional experience, view different approaches to ensuring primary care in the long term. Objectives. The aim of the study was to determine the positions, attitudes, and experiences of general practitioners with regard to ensuring primary care. Methods Using an online survey, a total of 4176 general practitioners were surveyed between February and June 2023. In addition to the descriptive analysis, a t-test on independent samples was used to determine significant differences between two groups. Results.Of those surveyed, 42% reported a noticeable decline of general medical practices in their area. In addition, 53% saw a declining attractiveness of primary care for young doctors, which is attributed to three problem areas: 1) the position of primary care in the healthcare system, 2) requirements for training and further education, and 3) working conditions. In order to secure primary care, those surveyed were primarily in favor of the following approaches: establishing a primary care physician system (85%), increasing the promotion of interest and points of contact in training and further education (80%), strengthening multi-professional outpatient care centers (64%), restructuring curricula (56%) and admission criteria for medical studies (50%), and reforming general medical training (53%). Conclusions. As the results show, general practitioners have their own suggestions and preferences that complement existing expert assessments. General practitioners should be more consistently involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of measures to stabilize primary care.