P Vedsted1, M B Christensen. 1. Research Unit and Department of General Practice, University of Aarhus, Denmark. pv@alm.au.dk
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: A reorganisation of the out-of-hours general practice service in Denmark was launched in January 1992. The biggest changes were in a mandatory telephone triage staffed by GPs and the replacement of small rota systems with county-based health centres. We aimed to analyse the effect of this out-of-hours reform on the number of contacts with the casualty wards. DESIGN: A register-based ecologic time-trend study of the mean number of annual contacts per inhabitant from 1988 to 1997. SETTING: The County of Aarhus. SUBJECTS: All 630000 inhabitants in the county. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean number of annual contacts with casualty wards per inhabitant. Intercepts derived from two regression models. RESULTS: The mean number of contacts with casualty wards rose significantly during the whole period. Given this constant increase in contact rates, a regression model showed that the increase in the attendance rate with casualty wards after the reform was statistically insignificant. CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in the total number of contacts with the out-of-hours primary health care after the reform was not met by a corresponding increase in casualty ward contacts. A clear-cut significant increase in the use of casualty wards following the out-of-hours reform could not be demonstrated.
OBJECTIVE: A reorganisation of the out-of-hours general practice service in Denmark was launched in January 1992. The biggest changes were in a mandatory telephone triage staffed by GPs and the replacement of small rota systems with county-based health centres. We aimed to analyse the effect of this out-of-hours reform on the number of contacts with the casualty wards. DESIGN: A register-based ecologic time-trend study of the mean number of annual contacts per inhabitant from 1988 to 1997. SETTING: The County of Aarhus. SUBJECTS: All 630000 inhabitants in the county. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean number of annual contacts with casualty wards per inhabitant. Intercepts derived from two regression models. RESULTS: The mean number of contacts with casualty wards rose significantly during the whole period. Given this constant increase in contact rates, a regression model showed that the increase in the attendance rate with casualty wards after the reform was statistically insignificant. CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in the total number of contacts with the out-of-hours primary health care after the reform was not met by a corresponding increase in casualty ward contacts. A clear-cut significant increase in the use of casualty wards following the out-of-hours reform could not be demonstrated.
Authors: Alyson Huntley; Daniel Lasserson; Lesley Wye; Richard Morris; Kath Checkland; Helen England; Chris Salisbury; Sarah Purdy Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2014-05-23 Impact factor: 2.692
Authors: Hamish Foster; Keith R Moffat; Nicola Burns; Maria Gannon; Sara Macdonald; Catherine A O'Donnell Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2020-01-19 Impact factor: 2.692