ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the scope of the practice visiting instrument (VIP) method, the data it provided for the second Dutch National Survey of General Practice (DNSGP-2); finally, examples of variation in practice management are presented. The VIP consists of 303 indicators describing 56 dimensions of practice management. The chapter explains a four major areas: infrastructure, e.g. premises, equipment, service and organisation; team, e.g. task division, workload and job stress of the general practitioners (GPs); communication, e.g. with colleagues/care providers, time spent on meetings, patient information, computerised patient records, ICT; and quality assurance (QA) and safety, e.g. continuous medical education, audit, QA-activities. The DNSGP-2 used the VIP method to collect data on practice management at national level. The data in the VIP are the property of the GP and help the practice to account for transparency of their quality of care to government, health insurers and patients. This is in line with the new insights into evidence-based implementation.
