PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Linda Huibers
AU  - Jan Koetsenruijter
AU  - Richard Grol
AU  - Paul Giesen
AU  - Michel Wensing
TI  - Follow-up After Telephone Consultations at Out-of-Hours Primary Care
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2013.04.120185
DP  - 2013 Jul 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
PG  - 373--379
VI  - 26
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/26/4/373.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/26/4/373.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2013 Jul 01; 26
AB  - Background: After a contact with a primary care physician (PCP) cooperative for out-of-hours care, many patients have subsequent contact with health care. Little is known about the factors associated with these follow-up contacts. The objective of this study was to examine whether patient experiences with nurse telephone consultations and the cooperative's organizational characteristics were associated with the probability of follow-up contact. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients attending 16 Dutch PCP cooperatives (2009 to 2011) using a validated questionnaire to measure patient experiences with nurse telephone consultations and patient-reported follow-up. Participating cooperatives provided information on 12 organizational characteristics. Multilevel regression modeling was used to identify associations. Results: A total of 7039 patients returned a questionnaire (50.4%), of which 5678 were complete. About half of patients reported a follow-up contact (47%). Regression analyses showed increasing probability of follow-up contact in patients with higher age (≥65 years; odds ratio [OR], 2.39), patients receiving a home visit (OR, 1.32), and cooperatives with a higher percentage of telephone consultations (OR, 1.02) and a decreased probability among patients with more positive experiences with a nurse via telephone contact (OR, 0.68). Conclusion: Although follow-up contacts can be medically required, a substantial number of contacts seem to be not required and thus are potentially avoidable (eg, by changes in work routine and communication).