BMJ  2003;326:1460 (28 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7404.1460-a

Letter

Doctors' performance needs to be discussed

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—We agree with Goldfield et al in their article on primary care in the United States1 that it is important to measure doctors' performance in a way that will improve the delivery of primary health care, although the generalist and team based nature of primary health care makes this complicated.2

In Canada, much discussion takes place about family doctors' performance at a national level, but little action. At a local and regional level, however, we have had considerable success. Our research model, soon to be implemented province wide,3 is practice based rather than doctor based and run by the university, independent of other organisations. Performance measurement is confidential and not released at any level that could identify individual practices or physicians. Results of the multifaceted detailed chart audit and patients' survey are supported by feedback from facilitators, and practice patterns change.2 Such feedback is emotional, complicated, and takes . . . [Full text of this article]

Carmel M Martin, associate professor

cmartin@uottawa.ca

William Hogg, professor

Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa, I Stewart Street, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5


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