title: [Emergency house calls in a Vienna medical practice].
abstract: Daytime emergency visits (7 a.m.-8 p.m.) requested in a general practice on the outskirts of Vienna were investigated between 1985 and 1992. Altogether 56 such calls were registered, on average 7.1 per year, with a decreasing tendency over the investigated period. The average visit started 9 minutes after demand and lasted for 17 minutes. An objective assessment after the visits revealed 35.7% life-threatening indications, 57.1% absolute, 3.6% relative and 3.6% trivial indications. Only 34% of all patients were referred to hospital for inpatient treatment. This form of general practitioner home visiting based on telephone assessment of urgency by the doctor personally keeps calls to a minimum, saves money and is efficient.
authors.affiliation: Besondere Universitätseinrichtung Allgemeinmedizin an der Universität Wien.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tönies
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D001317:Austria; D002648:Child; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006792:House Calls / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
vernacular_title: Dringliche Hausbesuche in einer Wiener Arztpraxis.