GP absence linked to small, temporary workload increases in Norwegian practices

Researchers linked Norwegian General Practitioner register data with health reimbursement records from 2016–2020. The analysis included 2,890 GP contracts across 1,078 group practices and compared monthly workload and consultation patterns for six months before and after a GP’s absence, using practices without an absence as comparators.

A GP’s absence was associated with an average increase of 1.43 active working hours per month among remaining colleagues. The increase was mainly attributable to consultations with patients registered with other GPs, peaked in the first month, and returned to baseline shortly thereafter. Consultations with colleagues’ own patients remained stable.

Workload changes were larger and more persistent in practices without a locum, and the first-month increase was more pronounced in smaller practices. The authors note that these subgroup comparisons are observational. The findings describe short-term workload patterns in Norwegian group practices; they do not establish how absence affects clinical outcomes or patient access in other healthcare systems.