Observational studyThe European journal of general practice2021
Effects of access to radiology in out-of-hours primary care on patient satisfaction and length of stay.
Observational study in The European journal of general practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Service Quality Assessment of Digital Health Solutions in Outpatient Care: Qualitative Item Repository Development Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Primary care access to radiology: Characteristics of trauma patients referred to the emergency department.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2023Observational
- Article
- Patient-reported outcomes after initial conservative fracture treatment in primary healthcare - a survey study.BMC primary care · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDirect access to hospital radiology facilities by general practitioner (GP) cooperatives is known to decrease the number of emergency department referrals, but the effects on length of stay (LOS; time from patient arrival at GP cooperative till departure to home) and patient experiences are unclear.
objectivesTo provide insight into the LOS and experiences of trauma patients with an indication for radiology at GP cooperatives with and without access to radiology.
methodsA multi-methods observational study in April 2014-October 2015 at six GP cooperatives in The Netherlands, covering three organisational models for access to radiology: no direct access, limited access and unlimited access. Patient experiences were measured with a questionnaire. Patient records were analysed for background characteristics, radiology outcomes, referral and LOS.
resultsIn total 657 patients were included, 232 no direct access model, 307 limited access model and 118 unlimited access model. The mean LOS was 99 minutes, with a significant difference between GP cooperatives without access to radiology (121 minutes), with limited access (86 minutes), and with unlimited access (90 minutes). The differences were larger for patients without radiological abnormalities. On a ten-point scale, patients rated GP cooperatives with unlimited access to radiology higher (8.62) than those without access (8.36) or with limited access (8.39).
conclusionAccess to radiology by GP cooperatives seems to reduce the length of stay and is slightly more appreciated by patients. GP cooperatives with unlimited access seem to provide the most efficient and best-valued care, contributing to more patient-centred care.
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Registered trials
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