Characteristics of participating GPs (n = 72).a
| Variable | n (%)b |
| Men | 53 (74) |
| University of Antwerp graduates | 32 (44) |
| Professional training | 19 (28) |
| Fee for service | 69 (96) |
| Not single-handed | 35 (49) |
| GPPTsc in practice | 16 (22) |
| Part time | 13 (19) |
| Province | |
| Antwerp | 44 (61) |
| Brussels | 2 (3) |
| Limburg | 5 (7) |
| West Flanders | 12 (17) |
| East Flanders | 9 (13) |
| Peakflow meter | 67 (93) |
| Spirometer | 16 (22) |
| Training practice | 24 (33) |
| Academic link | 23 (32) |
| Records of home visits | 59 (82) |
| Computerised records | 51 (71) |
| Complementary medicine | 2 (3) |
| Mean (SD) | |
| Age at start of this study (years) | 44 (8) |
| Patient encounters per week | 104 (42) |
| Home visits per week | 34 (19) |
| Medical representatives per month | 15 (10) |
| ATC J cost ratio | 15 (7) |
| ATC J volume ratio | 3 (1) |
ATC J = Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical J. SD = standard deviation.
↵a GPs including the 1448 patients eligible for analysis. Their characteristics do not differ from the characteristics of the other GPs who agreed to participate in this study (n = 13).
↵b Denominators vary due to missing values.
↵c GPs in professional training.