[Emergency medical services in a city. 1 year's data from a physician in Oslo]

After 297 contacts with patients through visits to the home in 1988 when doing emergency service in Oslo, 16% of the patients were referred to hospital. 26% were given new prescriptions or were advised to continue the drug prescribed for the acute illness by another doctor. 38% were given advice, a prescription-free drug, or no treatment. Only 4% of the patients under ten years of age were referred to hospital, 22% in this age group were given prescriptions and 73% were given advice and/or prescription-free drugs only. 8% of the patients were given prescriptions for group B drugs (mainly diazepam, diazepam-related drugs and combinations of paracetamol and codeine), or single or a few doses of group B or group A drugs (opiates). 11% of the patients were given antibiotics. 16 out of 32 prescriptions of antibiotics were phenoxymetylpenicillin. The average time spent on each patient was about 40 minutes, including travelling time. A warning is given against speedy consultations when carrying out emergency service, since most patients are unknown to the doctor. Other doctors taking part in emergency services in large towns and cities are advised to evaluate their medical practice.