Problems in sickness certification of patients: a qualitative study on views of 26 physicians in Sweden.
OBJECTIVE
To identify what problems physicians experience in sickness certification of patients.


METHODS
Qualitative analyses of data from six focus-group discussions.


METHODS
Four counties in different regions of Sweden.


METHODS
Twenty-six physicians strategically selected to achieve variation with regard to sex, geographical location, urban/rural area, and type of clinic.


RESULTS
The problems involved four areas: society and the social insurance system, the organization of healthcare, the performance of other actors in the system, and the physicians' working situation. In all areas the problems also involved manager issues such as overall leadership, organization of healthcare, and existing incentives and support systems for physicians' handling of patients' sickness certification. Many physicians described feelings of fatigue and a lack of pride in their work with sickness certification tasks, as they believed they contributed to unnecessary sickness absence and to medicalization of patients' non-medical problems.


CONCLUSIONS
The problems identified have negative consequences both for patients and for the well-being of physicians. Many of the problems seem related to inadequate leadership and management of sickness certification issues. Therefore, they cannot be handled merely by training of physicians, which has so far been the main intervention in this area. They also have to be addressed on manager levels within healthcare. Further research is needed on how physicians cope with the problems identified and on managers' strategies and responsibilities in relation to these problems. If the complexity of the problems is not recognized, there is a risk that inadequate actions will be taken to solve them.
von Knorring
Mia
M
Section of Personal Injury Prevention, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. mia.von.knorring@ki.se
Sundberg
Linda
L
Löfgren
Anna
A
Alexanderson
Kristina
K
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002568:Certification; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational; D018582:Sick Leave; D012943:Social Security; D013548:Sweden; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation