United, we can be stronger! French integrated general practitioners had better chronic care follow-up during lockdown

Background: Given the importance of continuous follow-up of chronic patients, we evaluated performance of French private practice general practitioners (GPs) practicing in multi-professional group practices (MGP), compared to their peers practicing outside MGP, regarding chronic care management during rst Covid-19 lockdown in spring 2020. Methods: The cross-sectional web questionnaire of 1,191 GPs took place in April 2020. We exploit self-reported data on: 1) frequency of consultations for chronic patients during lockdown compared to their typical week before the pandemic, along with 2) GPs proactive behaviour when contacting their chronic patients. We use probit and seemingly unrelated probit models (adjusted for endogeneity of choice of engagement in MGP) to test whether GPs in MGP had signicantly dierent responses to the Covid-19 crisis. Results: We nd that GPs in MGP were less likely to experience a drop in consultations related to complications of chronic diseases. They were also more proactive to contact their chronic patients. Conclusions: Quick policy response is needed to alleviate diculties encountered by GP practicing outside MGPs. Results advocate for further development of integrated care in the long run