GPs and access to out-of-hours services in six European countries

Regulating the demand for out-of-hours (OOH) services is, in most European countries, the subject of some consideration and even sizeable reforms, aiming to address new developments in medical practice and reduce inefficiencies in the current delivery of OOH services. The purpose of this contribution is to enquire into the possible convergence of alternative models of demand regulation in some of the countries listed: Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Sweden. The article outlines, on the one hand, the characteristics and limitations of the traditional models of organising OOH services delivery and, on the other, the new forms of demand regulation for OOH services. A common model seems to be emerging in the form of a single call centre; the emergence of this model is supported not only by new information and communication technologies but also by the ability of health systems to define new professional roles, empower health care demand and subject its operation to regular economic assessment

Business · Convergence (economics) · Economic growth · Economics · Global Positioning System · Health services · Telecommunications · Computer Science · Employment and Welfare Studies · Global Health Care Issues · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Medicine