8279949 Changes in publicly insured general practitioner (GP) consultation durations and care plans before and after workplace injury among workers receiving workers’ compensation

<h3>Objective</h3> General practitioner (GP) services in Australia are funded by the Medicare Benefits Scheme (universal public health insurance scheme). However, for work-related injuries, GP services are funded by an employer-funded workers’ compensation scheme. This study examined changes in publicly-funded GP service use before and after workplace injury in those with accepted workers’ compensation claims, focusing on four consultation duration types and use of GP-provided mental health and chronic disease management plans. <h3>Material and Methods</h3> A retrospective controlled cohort data linkage study containing publicly-funded GP services for 3755 injured workers with long (104+ weeks) workers’ compensation scheme claims in New South Wales, Australia. We used interrupted time series analysis comparing the monthly rates (per 1000 workers) of six GP service types, for 12 months before to 24 months after injury. Acute and long-term step and trend changes were compared to those observed in a control group of 10,113 individuals from the community without workers’ compensation claims. <h3>Results</h3> Injured workers had 1600 more GP services per 1000 workers per year post-injury compared to community control. Post-injury, the monthly rate of consultations increased 45% (IRR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.32, 1.59) for consultations lasting 6 to 20 minutes, with up to a 137% (IRR: 2.37, 95% CI: 1.35, 4.20) increase for consultations lasting 40 to 60 minutes. Monthly GP mental health care and chronic disease management plan rates increased by 84% (IRR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.17, 2.93) and 20% (IRR: 1.20, 95% CI: 0.78, 1.86), respectively. Following an initial acute increase, the monthly post-injury rate decreased, with slopes varying between 3% to 9%. <h3>Conclusions</h3> All types of publicly funded GP consultations temporarily increased during initial months following injury, regardless of workers’ compensation status. Injured workers continued accessing healthcare above pre-injury levels, likely due to delayed claim acceptance or increased care needs.