Who attends out-of-hours general practice appointments? Analysis of a patient cohort accessing new out-of-hours units.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

This report describes the patients who used additional out-of-hours (OOH) appointments offered through a UK scheme intended to increase patient access to primary care by extending OOH provision.

Design

Cohort study and survey data.

Setting

OOH appointments offered in four units in one region in England (October 2015 to November 2016).

Methods

Unidentifiable data on all patients were abstracted from a bespoke appointment system and the responses to a patient opinion questionnaire about this service. Descriptive analysis of the appointment data was conducted. Multivariate analysis of the opinion survey data examined the characteristics of the patients who would have gone to the emergency department (ED) had the OOH appointments not been available.

R

SUBMITTER: Kelly SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6009516 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature