A COMPARISON OF AFTER-HOURS TELEPHONE CALLS CONCERNING AMBULATORY ANDNURSING-HOME PATIENTS

Background. This study documents the frequency and nature of after-hou rs telephone calls to a university-based family practice, with special attention to those calls from or about nursing home patients. Methods . All after-hours telephone calls to a free-standing family practice t raining program that were made during the 6 months between July 1991 a nd January 1992 were recorded and classified. Results. Of the 821 call s recorded, 81 included telephone calls from nursing home patients. Nu rsing home patients, who constitute about 1% of the practice, were res ponsible for 10% of the calls (P < .001). Nursing home patient calls w ere more likely to occur on weekends (P = .013) and were more likely t o be for physician notification purposes (P < .001). Conclusions. Nurs ing home patients generate a disproportionately large number of after- hours calls. These calls are more likely to occur on weekends and less likely to require physician action. This is a considerable hidden pra ctice burden that needs to be taken into account when planning practic e coverage.