Continuity of care in after-hours house call medical services: An exploration of follow-up patterns in an Australian context

Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice
Chris O Ifediora, Gary D Rogers

Abstract

This study explores the postconsultation follow-up behaviours of patients who used the Australian after-hours house-call (AHHC) medical services. These behaviours provide insights into the nature of the continuity of care (CoC) in the industry and are a measure quality in AHHC service delivery. Understanding the patterns of these CoCs and their predictors will enable stakeholders in the industry, both locally and globally, plan and implement higher quality services. This is a cross-sectional survey of all 10,838 patients who used AHHC during the last week of January 2016. A validated questionnaire was used, distributed through a mix of online and postal questionnaires. One thousand two hundred twenty-eight questionnaires were returned (11.3%). Had the AHHC not been available, 38.6% of respondents would have gone to their own general practitioners (GPs), 40.1% to an emergency department (ED), 15.9% to an office-based after-hours service, and 5.5% would have done nothing. After the AHHC visits, however, 47.3% followed up with their GPs, 8.4% went to an ED, 4.2% arranged for a further AHHC visit, while 40.0% required no follow-up. Patients who required GP follow-ups were likely to be dissatisfied with aspects of the AHHC care rece...Continue Reading

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Sep 3, 2016·Family Practice·Chris O Ifediora, Gary D Rogers

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Citations

Aug 8, 2018·PeerJ·Kadir YildirimMuhammed Emre Colak

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