the doctors primary health care They serve every day dozens of queries In different medical centers in towns across Spain.A lot of it is for Handle sick leave These professionals have been decrying the fact that patients could do this entirely at home on their own, which would speed up consultations and ultimately make a difference for patients. better one patient assistance They really need to see their family doctor.
“Their process is very short And, in most cases, it is caused by banal or seasonal illnesses: gastroenteritis, colds… People are perfect for them at homebut they have to go to the doctor to take sick leave,” Dr. Aurora García, secretary of the board of directors of the Spanish Association of Primary Care Physicians (SEMERGEN), told ConSalud.es. Doctors do not – and cannot – do this without first seeing The patient was discharged from the hospital,”They force some negotiations and just do bureaucracybecause half of them are being treated at home because they disease They already know it. “
The primary care doctor’s advice is to keep the ball in the company’s court longer: “In the vast majority of companies, unless they have specific protocols, first three days Sick leave is the worker’s responsibility.So, I guess instead of endlessly justifying their casualties, they could do this Workers have specific days each year They have access to this information and it is controlled by the company doctor himself. “
“They are very short processes and, in most cases, arise from banal or seasonal pathologies”
Of course, Garcia clarified, everything has to start with a series of mechanisms, “educate people under self-responsibility” and to control these self-justifying dismissals: “If you have a worker who is constantly justifying himself, there must be multiple methods to this process, because No diarrhea or colds all year round. In this sense, companies can have self-regulatory mechanisms. “Some companies even require a doctor’s note and don’t even require sick leave. ¿What medical procedures will I have to do there?? It’s all pure bureaucracy,” he insists.
Another suggestion is that withdrawals could be issued from hospital care. “Our consultation volume is overloaded again. I saw five patients for 50 minutes the other day, and their sick leave was extended because they had been hospitalized in recent days. Fifty minutes to turn them into a piece of paper, When they have been diagnosed in hospital and referred to a family doctor. I think the longest sick day was three days. “The doctor criticized.
Furthermore, as has happened during the pandemic, they can Keep cancellation process When the employee recovers and returns to work, have the company doctor cut it off. “Current system Make certain processes self-limiting. You give four days of closed sick leave, but many times the worker recovers by the second or third day. And if you turn it on, You forced him to go to counseling to get his discharge papers.. There are options, but the thing is you have to believe in it,” family doctor.
distrust of government
This is a Historical demand The opinions of these health professionals have always been “outright rejected” by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour. “The proposal has been made, however, They never accepted it, It’s not very complicated,” criticized Garcia, but added that they would raise the issue again with Monica Garcia. “we don’t have that much time Work on the things that will stay in the drawer,” he added.
For Aurora García, there is no other reason than distrust of certain workers At once public administrationlet them pay the price in the end.”justice for sinners”. “Absenteeism has indeed increased this year, but it is precisely the Spaniards who We are not among the most absentee people. At work, no matter how many sambanito we have,” he said.
“We Spaniards are not the most absentee, no matter how many sambenito we have”
In fact, many countries are already working in this area self-justification model patients, as is the case in the UK. “Family doctors have to fill in reams of paperwork, much of which is useless, and other consultations with very little added value make them “Waste of valuable medical time”Juan Simó, a prominent family physician with extensive research experience, also criticized the media.
“Computerization has not reduced this, it has amplified it. short term loss Should be treated like what was done in U.K. Or, at least like Portugal: self-justifying. If everything has to go through the family doctor, We will eventually need a family doctor for every Spaniard“” he added.