Using telephone logs instead of databases to accurately estimate neurosurgical on-call workload

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Healthcare Management
• Medical Informatics

Background:

• On-call referral databases are increasingly used in UK neurosurgical units to estimate workload.
• Existing databases may underestimate the true workload experienced by on-call registrars.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that on-call databases underestimate workload.
• To propose and validate the use of telephone call volume to on-call registrars as a measure of workload.

Main Methods:

• Data collected from neurosurgical registrar-maintained referrals database and hospital switchboard telephone logs.
• Statistical analysis performed using JMP 8.0.2 software.

Main Results:

• A significant disparity was observed: median daily calls (78) versus median referrals (12).
• Nearly 50% of calls occurred out-of-hours, with peak volume on Fridays.
• Referral database and switchboard log data showed a close visual correlation.

Conclusions:

• On-call telephone logs provide an easily obtainable, reliable, and internally validated measure of registrar activity.
• Recommends utilizing call log data in other centers to assess on-call activity.
• Suggests using this data to tailor rotas for service and training balance.