Table 2.
Characteristics of 11,088 healthdirect calls, 1 July 2008–15 December 2011 according to dispositions
| Call characteristics | Dispositions (N, %a) | Total N (%a) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attend ED immediately | See doctor immediately, in 4 or 24 h | Self-care | Low-urgencyb | ||
| Patient sex | |||||
| Male | 698 (42.6%) | 2319 (36.3%) | 538 (32.5%) | 523 (37.1%) | 4078 (36.8%) |
| Female | 940 (57.4%) | 4065 (63.7%) | 1118 (67.5%) | 887 (62.9%) | 7010 (63.2%) |
| Patient’s age (at call) | |||||
| 45–54 | 344 (21.0%) | 1479 (23.2%) | 394 (23.8%) | 260 (18.4%) | 2477 (22.3%) |
| 55–64 | 494 (30.2%) | 1942 (30.4%) | 443 (26.8%) | 381 (27.0%) | 3260 (29.4%) |
| 65–74 | 430 (26.3%) | 1601 (25.1%) | 430 (26.0%) | 376 (26.7%) | 2837 (25.6%) |
| 75+ | 370 (22.6%) | 1362 (21.3%) | 389 (23.5%) | 393 (27.9%) | 2514 (22.7%) |
| Time of call | |||||
| In-hours | 378 (23.1%) | 1871 (29.3%) | 497 (30.0%) | 505 (35.8%) | 3251 (29.3%) |
| After-hours | 1260 (76.9%) | 4513 (70.7%) | 1159 (70.0%) | 905 (64.2%) | 7837 (70.7%) |
| Caller patient relationship | |||||
| Self | 1214 (74.1%) | 5256 (82.3%) | 1444 (87.2%) | 1266 (89.8%) | 9180 (82.8%) |
| Spouse, partner | 258 (15.8%) | 633 (9.9%) | 120 (7.2%) | 78 (5.5%) | 1089 (9.8%) |
| Other | 152 (9.3%) | 441 (6.9%) | 78 (4.7%) | 60 (4.3%) | 731 (6.6%) |
| Unknown | 14 (0.9%) | 54 (0.8%) | 14 (0.8%) | 6 (0.4%) | 88 (0.8%) |
| Original intention | |||||
| Self-care at home | 243 (14.8%) | 889 (13.9%) | 358 (21.6%) | 225 (16.0%) | 1715 (15.5%) |
| Call ambulance or attend ED | 519 (31.7%) | 1266 (19.8%) | 158 (9.5%) | 170 (12.1%) | 2113 (19.1%) |
| Contact doctor or healthcare provider | 241 (14.7%) | 1706 (26.7%) | 328 (19.8%) | 389 (27.6%) | 2664 (24.0%) |
| Did not know what to do | 539 (32.9%) | 2125 (33.3%) | 661 (39.9%) | 500 (35.5%) | 3825 (34.5%) |
| Missing | 96 (5.9%) | 398 (6.2%) | 151 (9.1%) | 126 (8.9%) | 771 (7.0%) |
| Triage protocol | |||||
| Skin, wound | 79 (4.8%) | 512 (8.0%) | 57 (3.4%) | 49 (3.5%) | 697 (6.3%) |
| Limbs and extremities | 118 (7.2%) | 738 (11.6%) | 126 (7.6%) | 93 (6.6%) | 1075 (9.7%) |
| Bite, burns, chemical exposure | 107 (6.5%) | 285 (4.5%) | 243 (14.7%) | 12 (0.9%) | 647 (5.8%) |
| Respiratory | 103 (6.3%) | 364 (5.7%) | 45 (2.7%) | 41 (2.9%) | 553 (5.0%) |
| Head, neck, face non-injury | 67 (4.1%) | 255 (4.0%) | 27 (1.6%) | 110 (7.8%) | 459 (4.1%) |
| Neurological, headache, seizure | 58 (3.5%) | 685 (10.7%) | 39 (2.4%) | 105 (7.4%) | 887 (8.0%) |
| Abdominal pain or injury | 213 (13.0%) | 583 (9.1%) | 20 (1.2%) | 113 (8.0%) | 929 (8.4%) |
| Cold, flu, fever | 24 (1.5%) | 281 (4.4%) | 66 (4.0%) | 18 (1.3%) | 389 (3.5%) |
| Postoperative | 43 (2.6%) | 313 (4.9%) | 52 (3.1%) | 26 (1.8%) | 434 (3.9%) |
| Cardiac | 360 (22.0%) | 421 (6.6%) | 33 (2.0%) | 184 (13.0%) | 998 (9.0%) |
| Bleeding | 82 (5.0%) | 305 (4.8%) | 36 (2.2%) | 84 (6.0%) | 507 (4.6%) |
| Nausea, vomiting | 52 (3.2%) | 182 (2.9%) | 63 (3.8%) | 17 (1.2%) | 314 (2.8%) |
| Gastrointestinal | 67 (4.1%) | 316 (4.9%) | 79 (4.8%) | 203 (14.4%) | 665 (6.0%) |
| Head, neck, face injury | 55 (3.4%) | 141 (2.2%) | 48 (2.9%) | 27 (1.9%) | 271 (2.4%) |
| Seen by a provider earlier | 0 (0.0%) | 293 (4.6%) | 180 (10.9%) | 88 (6.2%) | 562 (5.1%) |
| Other symptoms | 210 (12.8%) | 710 (11.1%) | 542 (32.7%) | 240 (17.0%) | 1701 (15.3%) |
| Total | 1638 (100%) | 6384 (100%) | 1656 (100%) | 1410 (100%) | 11,088 (100%) |
a: Percentage of the column
b: Including dispositions: see doctor in 72 h or 2 weeks, see a dentist in 72 h, in 2 weeks or when available, see a health provider in 72 h, in 2 weeks or when available