Community health care after hours

In an international survey, only 29 % of U

S physicians said their practice had arrangements for ensuring after-hours care for patients other than automated phone referral to the emergency department (ED), and only 30 % of patients described getting care on nights and weekends as “very” or “somewhat easy ” 1, 2

After-hours care coordinated with a patient’s usual primary care provider is facilitated by consideration of patient demand, provider capacity, a shared electronic health record, systematic notification procedures and a broader practice approach to improving primary care access and continuity

“After-hours care” refers to care for medical problems arising between 5 p

m and 8 a m

, and on weekends and holidays, that could be appropriately managed by the patient’s primary care physician/team