Rethinking access, qualifying care: a report of the work in two family health care teams

Abstract

In March 2015, the residence in family medicine was incorporated into two teams at a health center: one which has existed for eight years, attends a vulnerable population and has a high turnover of doctors, and another with a population mostly from middle class. After three months, we observed that professionals were overwhelmed in most service shifts, had no lunch break, and left after closing time. At the 360 review conducted by the preceptor, patients approved the consultations with residents, but complained of the waiting time. Our objective was to re-evaluate the work process and improve the satisfaction of patients and professionals. To this end, we studied each team, determined the key critical nodes in daily schedules, adapted the capacity of the teams to the needs of the populations, and opted for advanced access, in addition to other agreements between the staff to organize and optimize service. The whole team participated in planning and implementing these actions. During the first two weeks, practitioners were able to take their lunch breaks, leaving the center on time, and there was an increase in satisfaction. For our next step, we intend to raise popular participation and avoid the inverse care law by searching actively for patients who do not attend the clinic.