A qualitative study of employees’ opinions on establishing a generic call-centre
Abstract Background To investigate opinions among employees at an Out-of-Hours general practitioner (OOH-GP) service and a safety alarm service about the establishment of a generic call-centre. Methods Qualitative study using individual and group interviews with 14 employees and managers involved in...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2017-10-01
|
| Series: | BMC Family Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12875-017-0661-x |
| _version_ | 1811228880202104832 |
|---|---|
| author | Hilde Carin Storhaug Sara Bjune Mead Aslak Steinsbekk |
| author_facet | Hilde Carin Storhaug Sara Bjune Mead Aslak Steinsbekk |
| author_sort | Hilde Carin Storhaug |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background To investigate opinions among employees at an Out-of-Hours general practitioner (OOH-GP) service and a safety alarm service about the establishment of a generic call-centre. Methods Qualitative study using individual and group interviews with 14 employees and managers involved in preparation of a merge into a new generic call-centre. They were asked about their opinions towards establishing a generic call-centre where all contact about unplanned health inquiries from the public had to be done by telephone and how to solve more requests on the phone. Data was analysed thematically. Results Participants who alternate between call handling and direct patient contact (personnel at the OOH-GP) believed that just handling calls would be monotonous, less challenging and provide poorer quality. This was not supported by those working at the safety alarm service. There were different opinions about introducing mandatory use of decision support system for all inquiries, but it was a common understanding that it would lead to more patients in need of face-to-face consultations due to over triage. To solve more requests on the phone participants believed a public information campaign was required, that GPs received more of the emergency requests within their ordinary working hours and having salaried doctors in the OOH-GP service. Conclusion In the participants’ opinion, successful establishment of a generic call-centre depends on the employees’ possibility of direct patient contact, clarifications on the use of decision support system and good information to the population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:05:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-67136d642677453499bd81737dca0545 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2296 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:05:17Z |
| publishDate | 2017-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Family Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-67136d642677453499bd81737dca05452022-12-22T03:37:28ZengBMCBMC Family Practice1471-22962017-10-011811810.1186/s12875-017-0661-xA qualitative study of employees’ opinions on establishing a generic call-centreHilde Carin Storhaug0Sara Bjune Mead1Aslak Steinsbekk2Health and Welfare ServicesDepartment of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyAbstract Background To investigate opinions among employees at an Out-of-Hours general practitioner (OOH-GP) service and a safety alarm service about the establishment of a generic call-centre. Methods Qualitative study using individual and group interviews with 14 employees and managers involved in preparation of a merge into a new generic call-centre. They were asked about their opinions towards establishing a generic call-centre where all contact about unplanned health inquiries from the public had to be done by telephone and how to solve more requests on the phone. Data was analysed thematically. Results Participants who alternate between call handling and direct patient contact (personnel at the OOH-GP) believed that just handling calls would be monotonous, less challenging and provide poorer quality. This was not supported by those working at the safety alarm service. There were different opinions about introducing mandatory use of decision support system for all inquiries, but it was a common understanding that it would lead to more patients in need of face-to-face consultations due to over triage. To solve more requests on the phone participants believed a public information campaign was required, that GPs received more of the emergency requests within their ordinary working hours and having salaried doctors in the OOH-GP service. Conclusion In the participants’ opinion, successful establishment of a generic call-centre depends on the employees’ possibility of direct patient contact, clarifications on the use of decision support system and good information to the population.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12875-017-0661-xCall-centreTelephone triageOut-of-hours general practitioner serviceSafety alarm servicePrimary health care |
| spellingShingle | Hilde Carin Storhaug Sara Bjune Mead Aslak Steinsbekk A qualitative study of employees’ opinions on establishing a generic call-centre BMC Family Practice Call-centre Telephone triage Out-of-hours general practitioner service Safety alarm service Primary health care |
| title | A qualitative study of employees’ opinions on establishing a generic call-centre |
| title_full | A qualitative study of employees’ opinions on establishing a generic call-centre |
| title_fullStr | A qualitative study of employees’ opinions on establishing a generic call-centre |
| title_full_unstemmed | A qualitative study of employees’ opinions on establishing a generic call-centre |
| title_short | A qualitative study of employees’ opinions on establishing a generic call-centre |
| title_sort | qualitative study of employees opinions on establishing a generic call centre |
| topic | Call-centre Telephone triage Out-of-hours general practitioner service Safety alarm service Primary health care |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12875-017-0661-x |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hildecarinstorhaug aqualitativestudyofemployeesopinionsonestablishingagenericcallcentre AT sarabjunemead aqualitativestudyofemployeesopinionsonestablishingagenericcallcentre AT aslaksteinsbekk aqualitativestudyofemployeesopinionsonestablishingagenericcallcentre AT hildecarinstorhaug qualitativestudyofemployeesopinionsonestablishingagenericcallcentre AT sarabjunemead qualitativestudyofemployeesopinionsonestablishingagenericcallcentre AT aslaksteinsbekk qualitativestudyofemployeesopinionsonestablishingagenericcallcentre |