Jones Kay, Rouse-Watson Sian, Beveridge Andrew, Sims Jane, Schattner Peter
Department of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria.
Aust Fam Physician. 2012 Apr;41(4):235-9.
General practitioners have expressed concern about their ability to assess patients' driving fitness. This study explores GP perspectives regarding assessing fitness to drive in older and functionally impaired patients.
We held face-to-face interviews with seven metropolitan GPs and a focus group with nine rural GPs. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
General practitioners were unsure whether they or driving authorities should have responsibility for assessing patients' fitness to drive; recognised that driving is important for maintaining independence; described referral to an occupational therapist as useful, and expressed concern about the lack of access to alternative forms of transport and also about privacy issues. Opinion was divided about the merits of the VicRoads Medical Report Form and the usefulness of the Austroads guide.
This qualitative study suggests that some GPs may find assessing fitness to drive to be challenging and problematic in general practice. Further resources and education could assist these GPs to increase their confidence and competence in assessing a patient's fitness to drive.
全科医生对其评估患者驾驶适宜性的能力表示担忧。本研究探讨了全科医生对评估老年及功能受损患者驾驶适宜性的看法。
我们对7名大都市的全科医生进行了面对面访谈，并与9名乡村全科医生进行了焦点小组讨论。采用主题分析法对数据进行分析。
全科医生不确定应由他们还是驾驶管理部门负责评估患者的驾驶适宜性；认识到驾驶对维持独立性很重要；认为转诊给职业治疗师很有用，并对缺乏替代交通方式以及隐私问题表示担忧。对于维州道路局医疗报告表的优点和澳大利亚道路指南的实用性，意见存在分歧。
这项定性研究表明，一些全科医生可能发现在一般实践中评估驾驶适宜性具有挑战性且存在问题。进一步的资源和教育可以帮助这些全科医生增强评估患者驾驶适宜性的信心和能力。
