Unscheduled care (UC) is a current issue, particularly in the context of COVID-19 outbreak. UC is at the center of health policies, mainly in terms of the negative impact they have on hospital emergency services. This occurs in a context of imbalance between increasing health needs and changing healthcare offer.

The aim of this study was to describe the organization of general practitioners in UC management in South-West France.

Our research was based on the combination of a cross-sectional descriptive study by self-questionnaire, and a collection of qualitative data via semi-structured interviews.

79% of practitioners delegated their hotline to a "medical secretary"; 67% had a specific organization to manage UC, especially by means of dedicated slots; 88% proposed a structured management of UC. The secretary appeared to be a necessary link for managing UC requests, mainly through the role of sorting, regulating and scheduling UC appointments. Group work was highlighted as a means to distribute the response to UC requests more fairly, to carry out unscheduled home visits and to prevent healthcare refusal. Nevertheless, this group management seemed difficult to implement outside of medical centers, especially at the level of health territory.

the majority of GPs had implemented structured and shared management of UC, but they needed help and support to organize themselves across a territory, for example within the framework of "territorial health professional communities".