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Summary
Out-of-hours doctor visits varied significantly among physicians. Doctors who visited more patients were also more likely to prescribe, particularly for very young or elderly patients with high consultation rates.
Area of Science:
- General Practice
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Observed discrepancies in patient visit proportions between trainers and trainees.
- Identified a need to audit out-of-hours (OOH) service utilization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To audit out-of-hours (OOH) requests and calls over three months.
- To investigate variations in response and prescribing patterns among doctors.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a three-month audit of all out-of-hours (OOH) requests and calls.
- Analyzed response variations among doctors on the rota.
- Correlated patient visit frequency with prescribing behavior.
Main Results:
- Significant variation in response rates was observed among doctors.
- Physicians more likely to conduct home visits were also more likely to prescribe medication.
- A substantial portion of the patient population comprised very young or elderly individuals with high annual consultation rates.
Conclusions:
- Out-of-hours (OOH) service delivery shows considerable variability in practice.
- Prescribing patterns are linked to the decision to perform home visits in OOH care.
- Demographic factors, such as age, influence healthcare utilization patterns in primary care.