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The doctor's deputizing service in a single-handed practice
Insights
Using a doctor's deputizing service for out-of-hours calls did not increase call rates compared to general practitioners handling their own calls. Patient demographics, particularly age and sex, significantly influenced service usage patterns.
Area of Science:
- General Practice
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Out-of-hours (OOH) care is a critical component of primary healthcare delivery.
- The use of deputizing services for OOH calls is a common practice in many healthcare systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the call rates and usage patterns of a doctor's deputizing service used by a single-handed general practitioner.
- To compare OOH call rates with those of general practitioners managing their own OOH workload.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective study of out-of-hours calls received by a deputizing service over one year.
- Analysis of call data in relation to patient demographics (age, sex) and time of day.
Main Results:
- Overall call rate was 66.3 per 1,000 patients/year; night call rate was 10 per 1,000 patients/year.
- Children under five and women were the primary users of the service.
- Service utilization was lowest between 23:00 and 07:00.
Conclusions:
- Employing a deputizing service does not inherently increase OOH call frequency.
- Practice list demographics (age/sex) are key determinants of OOH call rates.
- The period between 23:00 and 07:00 represents the most cost-effective time for deputizing service engagement.
Abstract:
The out-of-hours calls received by a doctor's deputizing service on behalf of a single-handed general practitioner were studied over the course of one year.It was found that the overall rate of call (66.3 per 1,000 patients per year) and the rate of night call (10 per 1,000 patients per year) differed little from the rates found by general practitioners who did their own out-of-hours calls. The main users of the service were children under five and women. The time when the service was used least was between 23.00 and 07.00.It is concluded that employing a deputizing service did not necessarily increase the rate of out-of-hours calls, but that the rate was influenced by the age/sex structure of the practice list. The most economical time to employ the service was found to be from 23.00 to 07.00.