The Whiteley Surgery, Fareham, UK.
Occup Med (Lond). 2009 Dec;59(8):580-5. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqp147. Epub 2009 Oct 11.
At present, sickness certification is largely undertaken by general practitioners (GPs). Guidance from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is available to help with this task; however, there has been little formal evaluation of the DWP's guidance in relation to day-to-day general practice.
To assess GPs' training, knowledge and application of the DWP's sickness certification guidelines.
A structured questionnaire was sent to GPs within a (former) primary care trust (PCT). It probed demographics, training and knowledge of sickness certification guidelines. Case histories and structured questions were used to assess current practice.
In this group of 113 GPs, there was a low awareness and use of the DWP's guidelines and Website relating to sickness certification. The majority of the GPs (63%) had received no training in sickness certification, and the mean length of time for those who had received training was 4.1 h. Most GPs also felt that patients and GPs have equal influence on the duration of sickness certification.
This evidence of variable practice indicates that GPs should have more guidance and education in sickness certification. Closer sickness certification monitoring through existing GP computer systems may facilitate an improvement in practice that benefits patients and employers. The DWP, medical educators and PCTs may all have an additional role in further improving sickness certification practice.
目前，病假证明主要由全科医生（GP）开具。劳动部（DWP）提供了相关指导，以帮助完成这一任务；然而，针对 DWP 指导在日常全科实践中的应用，几乎没有进行过正式评估。
评估全科医生接受的培训、对 DWP 病假证明指南的了解程度以及应用情况。
我们向（前）基层医疗信托机构（PCT）内的全科医生发送了一份结构化问卷。问卷内容涉及人口统计学信息、培训以及病假证明指南的了解程度。采用病史和结构化问题来评估当前的实践情况。
在这组 113 名全科医生中，他们对 DWP 有关病假证明的指南和网站的了解和应用程度较低。大多数全科医生（63%）没有接受过病假证明方面的培训，接受过培训的医生的平均培训时长为 4.1 小时。大多数全科医生还认为，患者和医生对等影响病假证明的时长。
这种实践情况的差异表明，全科医生应在病假证明方面获得更多的指导和教育。通过现有的全科医生计算机系统更密切地监测病假证明，可能有助于改善有利于患者和雇主的实践。DWP、医学教育者和 PCT 都可以在进一步改善病假证明实践方面发挥额外作用。
