Diagnostic scope in out-of-hours primary care services in eight European countries: an observational study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In previous years, out- of-hours primary care has been organised in large-scale organisations in many countries. This may have lowered the threshold for many patients to present health problems at nights and during the weekend. Comparisons of out-of-hours care between countries require internationally comparable figures on symptoms and diagnoses, which were not available. This study aimed to describe the symptoms and diagnoses in out-of-hours primary care services in regions in eight European countries.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective observational study based on medical records from out-of-hours primary care services in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland. We aimed to include data on 1000 initial contacts from

SUBMITTER: Huibers LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3114765 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature