@article {Neimanis1008, author = {Ieva Neimanis and Janusz Kaczorowski and Michelle Howard}, title = {After-hours services in capitation-funded primary care practice}, volume = {55}, number = {10}, pages = {1008--1009.e6}, year = {2009}, publisher = {The College of Family Physicians of Canada}, abstract = {OBJECTIVE To examine patients{\textquoteright} use of and satisfaction with the nurse-staffed Telephone Health Advisory Service (THAS) and physician after-hours care in a rostered Family Health Organization, as well as physicians{\textquoteright} satisfaction with both types of services. DESIGN Cross-sectional telephone survey. SETTING A Family Health Organization in Hamilton, Ont. PARTICIPANTS Nineteen family physicians and their patients who used an after-hours service during 9 selected weeks between March and December of 2007. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Distribution of encounters directed to the on-call physician or to the THAS; types of health problems; and patient and physician satisfaction. RESULTS A total of 817 calls were recorded from 774 patients. Of these patients, 606 were contacted and 94.4\% (572/606) completed encounter-specific surveys: 358 completed the on-call physician survey and 214 completed the THAS survey. Mean age of respondents was 40.8 years; most were women, and approximately one-third called on behalf of children. Most calls (66.8\%, 546/817) were made directly to the on-call physicians. The most common problems were respiratory (34.3\%, 271/789), gastrointestinal (10.1\%, 80/789), and genitourinary (9.3\%, 73/789). Most patients reported being very satisfied with the after-hours care provided by the THAS (62.5\%, 125/200) or the on-call physicians (70.9\%, 249/351). Almost all callers who bypassed the THAS knew about it (89.8\%, 316/352), but either felt their problems were too serious or wished to talk to a physician. Most physicians agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with their colleagues{\textquoteright} on-call care (81.0\%, 17/21); 47.6\% (10/21) agreed that the THAS was helpful in managing on-call duty. CONCLUSION When direct after-hours physician contact is available, a minority of patients uses a nurse-staffed triage. Physicians find the arrangements onerous and would prefer to see after-hours care managed and remunerated differently.}, issn = {0008-350X}, URL = {https://www.cfp.ca/content/55/10/1008}, eprint = {https://www.cfp.ca/content/55/10/1008.full.pdf}, journal = {Canadian Family Physician} }