Article Figures & Data
Tables
Variable (Mean) Frequent Caller (n = 53) Control (n = 122) PValues Age, y 30.2 30.7 NS Female, % 81.0 52.0 <.001 Diagnosis , n 6.4 2.6 <.001 Medications, n 7.7 2.7 <.001 Psychiatric medications, n 0.92 0.30 <.001 Pain medications, n 0.96 0.10 <.001 Office visits in past year, n 8.8 2.4 <.001 Emergency department visits in the past year, n 1.2 0.1 <.001 Hospital admissions in the past year, n 2.4 0.3 <.001 Diagnostic Group Number Percent Psychiatric (depression, anxiety, etc) 20 38 Pain 12 23 Chronic medical illness 9 17 Pregnancy, gynecologic disorder 7 13 Childhood illness or fever 5 9 Total 53 100
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The Article in Brief
Patients who make frequent after-hours telephone calls to physicians' offices use more health resources than other patients. Frequent callers are often female patients experiencing anxiety, depression, chronic illness, or pain. Compared with other patients, they have 3 times as many office visits, medical diagnoses, and medication prescriptions, and 8 times as many hospital admissions. Strategies to better meet the needs of these patients, particularly their need for care of anxiety, depression, and pain, may decrease the numbers of calls and the amount of health services they use. Strategies could include providing targeted education and treatment to frequent callers.
