Out-of-hours demand for GP care and emergency services: patients' choices and referrals by general practitioners and ambulance services
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Over the last five years, Dutch provision of out-of-hours primary health care has shifted from practice-based services towards large-scale general practitioner (GP) cooperatives. Only few population-based studies have been performed...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2007-08-01
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| Series: | BMC Family Practice |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2296/8/46 |
| _version_ | 1811227648559415296 |
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| author | Bindels Patrick JE van Steenwijk-Opdam Pauline CE Moll van Charante Eric P |
| author_facet | Bindels Patrick JE van Steenwijk-Opdam Pauline CE Moll van Charante Eric P |
| author_sort | Bindels Patrick JE |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Over the last five years, Dutch provision of out-of-hours primary health care has shifted from practice-based services towards large-scale general practitioner (GP) cooperatives. Only few population-based studies have been performed to assess the out-of-hours demand for GP and emergency care, including the referral patterns to the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) by GPs and ambulance services.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>During two four-month periods (five-year interval), a prospective cross-sectional study was performed for a Dutch population of 62,000 people. Data were collected on all patient contacts with one GP cooperative and three AEDs bordering the region.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, GPs handled 88% of all out-of-hours contacts (275/1000 inhabitants/year), while the AED dealt with the remaining 12% of contacts (38/1000 inhabitants/year). Within the AED, the self-referrals represented a substantial number of contacts (43%), although within the total out-of-hours demand they only represented 5% of all contacts. Self-referrals were predominantly young adult males presenting with an injury, nineteen percent of whom had a fracture. Compared to self-referrals, patients who were referred by the GP or brought in by the ambulance services were generally older and were more frequently admitted for both injury and non-injury (p < 0.01 for all differences).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The GP cooperative deals with the large majority of out-of-hours problems presented. Within the total demand, self-referrals constitute a stable, yet small group of patients, many of whom seem to have made a reasonable choice to attend the AED. The GPs and the ambulance services appear to be effectively selecting the problems that are presented to the AED.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T09:45:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a18d0261d9004e41aba8207a7437f900 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2296 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T09:45:38Z |
| publishDate | 2007-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Family Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-a18d0261d9004e41aba8207a7437f9002022-12-22T03:37:58ZengBMCBMC Family Practice1471-22962007-08-01814610.1186/1471-2296-8-46Out-of-hours demand for GP care and emergency services: patients' choices and referrals by general practitioners and ambulance servicesBindels Patrick JEvan Steenwijk-Opdam Pauline CEMoll van Charante Eric P<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Over the last five years, Dutch provision of out-of-hours primary health care has shifted from practice-based services towards large-scale general practitioner (GP) cooperatives. Only few population-based studies have been performed to assess the out-of-hours demand for GP and emergency care, including the referral patterns to the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) by GPs and ambulance services.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>During two four-month periods (five-year interval), a prospective cross-sectional study was performed for a Dutch population of 62,000 people. Data were collected on all patient contacts with one GP cooperative and three AEDs bordering the region.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, GPs handled 88% of all out-of-hours contacts (275/1000 inhabitants/year), while the AED dealt with the remaining 12% of contacts (38/1000 inhabitants/year). Within the AED, the self-referrals represented a substantial number of contacts (43%), although within the total out-of-hours demand they only represented 5% of all contacts. Self-referrals were predominantly young adult males presenting with an injury, nineteen percent of whom had a fracture. Compared to self-referrals, patients who were referred by the GP or brought in by the ambulance services were generally older and were more frequently admitted for both injury and non-injury (p < 0.01 for all differences).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The GP cooperative deals with the large majority of out-of-hours problems presented. Within the total demand, self-referrals constitute a stable, yet small group of patients, many of whom seem to have made a reasonable choice to attend the AED. The GPs and the ambulance services appear to be effectively selecting the problems that are presented to the AED.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2296/8/46 |
| spellingShingle | Bindels Patrick JE van Steenwijk-Opdam Pauline CE Moll van Charante Eric P Out-of-hours demand for GP care and emergency services: patients' choices and referrals by general practitioners and ambulance services BMC Family Practice |
| title | Out-of-hours demand for GP care and emergency services: patients' choices and referrals by general practitioners and ambulance services |
| title_full | Out-of-hours demand for GP care and emergency services: patients' choices and referrals by general practitioners and ambulance services |
| title_fullStr | Out-of-hours demand for GP care and emergency services: patients' choices and referrals by general practitioners and ambulance services |
| title_full_unstemmed | Out-of-hours demand for GP care and emergency services: patients' choices and referrals by general practitioners and ambulance services |
| title_short | Out-of-hours demand for GP care and emergency services: patients' choices and referrals by general practitioners and ambulance services |
| title_sort | out of hours demand for gp care and emergency services patients choices and referrals by general practitioners and ambulance services |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2296/8/46 |
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