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Table 2 Proportion of psychiatrists (N=597) reporting frequencies of different situations regarding sickness certification

From: Psychiatrists′ work with sickness certification: frequency, experiences and severity of the certification tasks in a national survey in Sweden

Nr

How often in your clinical work do you…

At least once a week

About once a month/ a few times/year

Never or almost never

1

… find sickness certification cases to be problematic?

11.7

75.6

12.7

2

… encounter a patient who wants to be on sick leave for some reason other than work incapacity due to disease or injury?

4.1

59.3

36.6

3

… say no to a patient who asks for a sickness certificate?

1.4

47.0

51.5

4

… have patients who partly or completely say no to a sick leave you suggest?

1.3

43.7

55.0

5

… issue a sickness certificate so that a patient will be eligible for higher benefits than unemployment or welfare benefits?

.0

31.8

68.2

6

… have conflicts with patients about sickness certification?

3.3

39.6

57.1

7

… worry that a patient will report you to the medical disciplinary board in connection with sickness certification?

4.2

31.6

64.2

8

… feel threatened by a patient in connection with sickness certification?

1.6

28.2

70.2

9

… worry that patients are going to change physician if you don’t issue a sickness certificate?

.0

36.4

63.6

10

… have patients saying they will change physician if you don’t issue a sickness certificate

2.3

13.8

83.8

11

… collaborate with or refer patients to physical or occupational therapists when handling cases involving sickness certification?

4.7

58.8

36.5

12

… collaborate with or refer patients to social workers and/or psychologists when handling cases involving sickness certification?

13.0

66.2

20.8

13

… confer with other doctors when handling cases involving sickness certification?

1.9

39.5

58.6

14

… have time alone or with colleagues for supervision/feedback/reflection related to sickness certification issues?

1.5

40.0

58.5

 

When handling sickness certification tasks, how often do you not have enough time…

   

15

… with your patients?

60.9

22.6

16.5

16

… to manage patient-related aspects (e.g. issuing certificates, contacting other stakeholders, documentation and meetings)?

76.6

17.0

6.3

17

… for further education, supervision or reflection?

69.2

20.2

10.6

 

How often in your clinical work do you…

   

18

… refer/send patients to occupational health services?

.3

30.5

69.2

19

… issue sickness certificates to patients without seeing them (e.g. by telephone)?

4.5

62.0

33.5

20

… apply the new national guidelines for sickness certification?

6.8

55.7

37.5

21

… or does your health care team participate in coordination meetings with social insurance and/or employers about patients to whom you issue sickness certificates?

1.3

66.3

32.4

22

… or does your care team contact employers in ways other than via the coordination meetings?

1.1

45.9

53.0

23

… contact social services when handling cases involving sickness certification?

1.7

46.1

52.3

24

… contact the employment offices when handling cases involving sickness certification?

1.0

37.6

61.4

25

… wish there was someone (e.g. a coach or an advisor) who could coordinate measures implemented for patients?

15.6

54.0

30.5