Table 4.
GP, patient, and contact characteristics associated with getting a face-to-face contact that could have ended in a telephone consultation, according to the consulting GPa
| n (%) | Adjusted RR (95% CI)b | |
|---|---|---|
| GP who answered the telephone call | ||
| Age, years | ||
| 30–39 | 1848 (14.1) | Ref. |
| 40–49 | 3929 (30.0) | 1.00 (0.84 to 1.18) |
| 50–59 | 4463 (34.1) | 1.12 (0.94 to 1.33) |
| ≥60 | 2851 (21.8) | 1.08 (0.89 to 1.30) |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 8918 (68.1) | Ref. |
| Female | 4173 (31.9) | 1.05 (0.95 to 1.15) |
| Number of shifts within 1 year | ||
| 0–29 | 3725 (27.3) | Ref. |
| 30–49 | 3756 (27.5) | 0.79 (0.64 to 0.97) |
| ≥50 | 6166 (45.2) | 0.61 (0.47 to 0.79) |
|
| ||
| Patient | ||
| Age, years | ||
| 0–17 | 3576 (26.9) | 0.92 (0.81 to 1.05) |
| 18–39 | 3077 (23.1) | Ref. |
| 40–64 | 3098 (23.3) | 0.83 (0.72 to 0.95) |
| >64 | 3548 (26.7) | 0.64 (0.54 to 0.76) |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 6340 (47.7) | Ref. |
| Female | 6963 (52.3) | 1.04 (0.95 to 1.14) |
|
| ||
| Contact | ||
| Reason for encounter | ||
| Trauma | 851 (6.7) | 0.91 (0.74 to 1.11) |
| Infections | 184 (1.5) | 0.97 (0.65 to 1.44) |
| Symptoms/complaints | 10 594 (83.9) | Ref. |
| Other | 1003 (7.9) | 1.05 (0.86 to 1.30) |
| Duration of health problem, hours | ||
| <5 | 3267 (25.1) | Ref. |
| 5–12 | 3285 (25.2) | 0.96 (0.82 to 1.12) |
| >12–24 | 2424 (18.6) | 0.84 (0.71 to 0.99) |
| >24 | 4066 (31.2) | 1.25 (1.07 to 1.47) |
| GP-assessed severity | ||
| Severe — potentially life-threatening | 841 (6,3) | 0.15 (0.10 to 0.21) |
| Potentially severe — needs to be seen by a doctor | 4952 (37.2) | 0.05 (0.04 to 0.07) |
| Not severe — but the patient is ill | 5789 (43.5) | 0.35 (0.31 to 0.41) |
| Patient is not ill | 1436 (10.8) | Ref. |
| Don’t know | 280 (2.1) | 0.44 (0.30 to 0.65) |
| Time of contact | ||
| Weekend and holidaysc | 7935 (59.7) | 0.87 (0.72 to 1.06) |
| Weekday nights (0 am–8 pm) | 1992 (15.0) | 1.25 (1.02 to 1.54) |
| Weekdays late afternoon (4 pm–8 pm) | 1603 (12.1) | Ref. |
| Weekday evenings (8 pm–12 pm) | 1773 (13.3) | 0.95 (0.76 to 1.16) |
| Duration to opening hours of patient’s own GP | ||
| <2 hours after own GP’s closing hours | 274 (2.1) | Ref. |
| <2 hours before own GP’s opening hours | 663 (5.0) | 1.80 (1.27 to 2.55) |
| >2 hours after own GP’s closing or >2 hours before own GP’s opening hours | 12 366 (93.0) | 1.00 (0.80 to 1.25) |
a
Adjusted for clustering of GPs.
b
Adjusted for age group of patient, sex of patient, duration of health problem, and reason for encounter.
c
Friday 4 pm to Sunday 12 pm, and public holidays.
Ref. = Reference. RR = relative risk.