Patients back to routine care

A new study from Praktisk Medicin shows that patient flow is about to normalize and even increase during May-June.

Almost 200 people in primary care have answered questions about their experiences and expectations of the patient flow, which during the pandemic has been anything but normal. In April, 57% of the health center staff experienced that the patient flow was normal or more than normal and the pressure is expected to increase over time.

– The patient flow has slowly but surely begun to increase, partly due to the fact that vaccinations have started but also because we have adapted the routines to reduce the risk of infection, says Åsa Petersson, operations manager at Hässelby Akademiska Vårdcentral. We notice above all that people in risk groups who have now been vaccinated are starting to feel safer and get in touch to book an appointment, which they have postponed since before.

The survey shows that:

• 82% expect a normal or more than normal patient flow in May-June.
• 57% believe that they have the capacity to handle the patient flow May-June.
• 20% do not believe that they have the capacity to handle the patient flow May-June.

With the increased patient flow, longer waiting times are also reasonable to assume for two reasons: partly due to limited capacity to accommodate everyone, and partly the covid vaccination’s “follow-up” of 15-20 minutes.