BACKGROUND General practitioner (GP) shortages and increasing demand for care led to the introduction of nurse practitioners (NPs) to primary care. Many concepts for task sharing among health professionals feature complexity. The aim of this narrative review was to examine how complexity is used as a factor for task allocation between GPs and NPs. METHODS According to the PRISMA statement, PubMed and CINAHL were searched systematically, and eligibility criteria were applied to detect literature concerning GPs and NPs in primary care and complexity in the context of task allocation. Relevant information was extracted, and a narrative analysis was performed. RESULTS Thirty-seven studies from seven countries were included, comprising quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Complexity was used to describe patients, their needs, and health professionals' tasks. The understanding of the use of complexity as a factor for task allocation between NPs and GPs was based on the patient population (specific vs. unspecific), the setting (specific vs. unspecific), the numbers of health professionals involved (two vs. more than two), and the NP role (distinct model of care vs. no model). Despite similarities in these areas, the tasks which NPs perform range from providing minor to complex care. However, there is a slight trend towards NPs treating socially complex patients and GPs focusing on medically complex cases. CONCLUSION Complexity as a concept is prominent in primary care but remains broad and inconsistent as a factor for task allocation between NPs and GPs. This review can be used as a point of reference when practitioners are seeking methods for task allocation in a collaborative primary care setting.

中文翻译：

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复杂性作为全科医生和执业护士任务分配的一个因素：叙述性回顾。


背景全科医生（GP）的短缺和对护理的需求不断增加导致初级护理中引入执业护士（NP）。卫生专业人员之间的任务分担的许多概念都具有复杂性。这篇叙述性评论的目的是研究如何将复杂性用作 GP 和 NP 之间任务分配的一个因素。方法 根据 PRISMA 声明，系统检索 PubMed 和 CINAHL，并应用资格标准来查找有关初级保健中的 GP 和 NP 以及任务分配背景下的复杂性的文献。提取相关信息，进行叙述性分析。结果 纳入了来自 7 个国家的 37 项研究，包括定量、定性和混合方法。复杂性用于描述患者、他们的需求以及卫生专业人员的任务。使用复杂性作为 NP 和 GP 之间任务分配的一个因素的理解是基于患者群体（特定与非特定）、环境（特定与非特定）、涉及的卫生专业人员数量（两名与更多）超过两个），以及 NP 角色（不同的护理模型与无模型）。尽管这些领域有相似之处，但 NP 执行的任务范围从提供轻微到复杂的护理不等。然而，有轻微的趋势是，NP 治疗社会复杂的患者，而全科医生则专注于医学复杂的病例。结论 复杂性作为一个概念在初级保健中很突出，但作为 NP 和 GP 之间任务分配的一个因素仍然广泛且不一致。当从业者在协作初级保健环境中寻求任务分配方法时，本综述可以作为参考。