[COVID-19 Information Platform for Primary Care: Emergence and Development of a Web-based Knowledge Platform in the COVID-19 Pandemic]. / Informationsplattform COVID-19 für die Primärversorgung: Entstehung und Entwicklung einer webbasierten Wissensplattform in der COVID-19 Pandemie.

BACKGROUND: The SARS-Cov-2 outbreak in the spring of 2020 challenged the health care system, and thus primary care, on an unprecedented scale. Knowledge about the new disease was low, whereas the dynamics of knowledge generation were high and inhomogeneous. A number of new primary care tasks related to the pandemic situation emerged. Guidance in the management of COVID-19 was therefore needed, although robust evidence was not yet available. The information required concerned not only the virus and the new disease COVID-19, but also regulatory requirements and organizational issues. In this situation, a flexible, web-based information tool, easy to update and usable at the point of care, was developed at Karl Landsteiner Private University Krems and put online under the name of "COVID-19: prevention and management in primary care practices" on March 25, 2020. In a retrospective process description, we describe the needs-triggered process of developing and disseminating a practice-based tool to support practicing primary care physicians in a period of high uncertainty with an urgent need for information. Afterwards, we reflect on the learning process from a purely pragmatic to an increasingly structured approach and try to draw conclusions regarding optimization possibilities in terms of creation and dissemination. CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK: In situations of high uncertainty combined with an acute need for action and decision-making, there is a significant need for information that is as reliable as possible. Science transfer must be done in such a way that information can be implemented quickly. Dissemination, as always, plays an essential role. Gaps must be accepted. A structured process of quality assurance must be established in parallel. Funds and resources for knowledge transfer should be included in future pandemic plans.

"We literally worked in parking lots, cars, garages, and separately set up party tents": qualitative study on the experiences of GPs in the frame of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Austria.

BACKGROUND: Primary care is internationally recognised as one of the cornerstones of health care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, primary care physicians were assigned a variety of tasks and thus made a significant contribution to a country's pandemic response. They were expected to perform a variety of tasks, such as diagnosing and treating people with COVID-19, maintaining health care for all other patients, as well as several public health tasks, such as diagnostic testing and vaccination, protecting patients and staff from infection, and serving as community trusted persons. In Austria, there are no structured levels of care, no definition of the role of the general practitioner during a pandemic is given, and no specific support structures are present. The aim of this study was to assess the views and experiences of primary care physicians regarding supportive and hindering factors for pandemic preparedness in Austria. METHODS: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. A total of 30 general practitioners were interviewed, with particular attention to an equitable distribution in small, medium and large primary care facilities. Qualitative content analysis was performed. RESULTS: Interviewees described a wide range of infection control, organisational and communication measures that they had implemented. They made changes to practise equipment, found makeshift solutions when supplies were scarce, and established communication and information pathways when official communication lines were inadequate. CONCLUSION: General practitioners took on essential tasks and showed a high level of understanding of their role in the pandemic response. This was achieved mainly at an informal level and with high personal commitment. Their functioning in the absence of structural regulations and support shows that they had a clear intrinsic understanding of their responsibilities. To ensure reliability and sustainability and to reduce their burden, it will be necessary to clarify the role and tasks of a general practitioner and to provide the necessary support. This concerns both infrastructural support and communication and information strategies. As part of the reform to strengthen primary care, primary care needs to be seen, valued and involved in decision-making processes.