After-hours telephone triage and advice in private and nonprivate pediatric populations

Abstract

Objectives: To compare the content of after-hours medical triage and advice calls regarding private practice patients vs nonprivate practice patients and to assess caregiver compliance with advice resulting from these calls. Design: Survey of after-hours medical triage and advice calls during a 2-week period (September 1 through 15, 1996). Setting: Three private practices (serving approximately 24 000 patients) and 1 urban hospital- based, nonprivate practice (serving approximately 12 000 patients). Subjects: After-hours medical triage and advice calls from caregivers of patients receiving their primary care in these settings. Main Outcome Measure: Compliance with recommended emergency department (ED) or office visit referrals. Results: A total of 286 calls regarding private practice patients and 377 calls regarding nonprivate practice patients were received (P