Callers’ health service use categorized by virtual physician disposition*
| Variable | No. (%) of calls by disposition | No. (%) of all calls n = 5937 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Go to ED now n = 1546 | See primary care MD now n = 556 | Schedule an MD or HCP appointment n = 1773 | Try home treatment n = 1834 | Other n = 228 | ||
| Calls followed by at least 1 ED visit within 24 h | 971 (62.8) | 140 (25.2) | 160 (9.0) | 112 (6.1) | 40 (17.5) | 1423 (24.0) |
| Calls followed by at least 1 hospital admission within 7 d | 141 (9.1) | 17 (3.1) | 37 (2.1) | 54 (2.9) | 9 (3.9) | 258 (4.3) |
| Hospital admissions directly from ED | 124 (87.9) | 12 (70.6) | 30 (81.1) | 44 (81.5) | 6 (66.7) | 216 (83.7) |
| Calls followed by at least 1 FP visit within 1 1d | 162 (10.5) | 132 (23.7) | 388 (21.9) | 176 (9.6) | 31 (13.6) | 889 (15.0) |
| Calls followed by at least 1 FP visit within 7 d* | 517 (33.4) | 236 (42.4) | 812 (45.8) | 536 (29.2) | 82 (36.0) | 2183 (36.8) |
| Calls followed by no health service use within 7 d† | 141 (9.2) | 115 (20.7) | 507 (28.6) | 892 (48.6) | 70 (30.7) | 1725 (29.1) |
Note: ED = emergency department, FP = family physician, HCP = health care provider, MD = medical doctor.
↵* Visits within 7 days includes all visits within 1 day.
↵† Defined as no recorded death, ED visit, hospital admission or medical claim of any type. Additional 8-1-1 calls were not counted as additional health service use.