title: Out-of-hours doctors' decisions on call-outs in emergency situations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several earlier studies have shown that doctors in local out-of-hours emergency primary health care participate in call-outs to varying degrees. It is the out-of-hours doctor who decides whether to respond with a call-out. We wished to study the assessments that form the basis of this decision.
  
  
  METHODS
  We interviewed the out-of-hours doctors in the county of Hordaland who had been alerted about an emergency incident on the health radio network during an evening or night shift, apart from at weekends. The interview period lasted from July to October 2012 and was linked directly to specific alarm calls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 252 relevant incidents, 72 of which were investigated. A total of 47 of the 95 doctors contacted were interviewed (49%). The doctor responded with a call-out in 65 % of the incidents. Normally it was the content of the message about the patient's medical condition that was critical for the doctor's decision to respond with a call-out, while it was most often practical aspects that meant that she/he did not respond in this way. When the doctor responded with a call-out, and later assessed the call-out as necessary, the patient's need for medical expertise was the most important reason given.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the incidents studied, the decision on whether or not to respond with a call-out was based on a balanced consideration of the patient's needs and what was practically possible for the doctor. The out-of-hours doctors experienced a need for medical expertise in many emergency medical situations.
authors.affiliation: Det medisinsk-odontologiske fakultet Universitetet i Bergen.
authors.forename: Helle-Marie
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Brennvall
authors.affiliation: Det medisinsk-odontologiske fakultet Universitetet i Bergen.
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hauken
authors.affiliation: Nasjonalt kompetansesenter for legevaktmedisin Uni Research Helse og Forskningsgruppe for allmennmedisin Institutt for global helse og samfunnsmedisin Universitetet i Bergen.
authors.forename: Steinar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hunskår
authors.affiliation: Nasjonal kompetansetjeneste for traumatologi Oslo universitetssykehus, Ullevål og Akuttmedisinsk-anestesiologisk forskningsgruppe Universitetet i Tromsø og Akuttavdelingen Klinikk Hammerfest Finnmarkssykehuset.
authors.forename: Torben
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wisborg
authors.affiliation: Nasjonalt kompetansesenter for legevaktmedisin Uni Research Helse og Forskning og utviklingsavdelingen Stiftelsen norsk luftambulanse og Forskningsgruppe for allmennmedisin Institutt for global helse og samfunnsmedisin Universitetet i Bergen.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zakariassen
mesh_terms: D039602:After-Hours Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000552:Ambulances / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003657:Decision Making; D004630:Emergencies; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D064887:Observational Studies as Topic; D010820:Physicians; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014218:Triage