ArticleJournal of primary care & community health
Reducing Internally Generated Demand Through Scheduled Communication Time in a Remote Salaried Family Medicine Clinic.
Article in Journal of primary care & community health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundIn salaried primary care systems, internally generated demand, such as physician-initiated recalls, can limit timely access for other patients.
objectiveTo evaluate whether reserving protected time for unscheduled physician phone calls decreases recall appointment volume.
designA quality improvement intervention with a before-and-after analysis.
settingA salaried family medicine clinic in northern Saskatchewan.
participantsAll clinic patients recalled for visits between October 2024 and February 2025 (1005 recalls).
interventionA daily 30-min block was reserved in each physician's morning schedule for discretionary phone-based follow-up. MAIN MEASURES: Total number of recalls, recall reasons, and patient demographics before and after implementation. KEY
resultsRecall appointments dropped by 28.7%, particularly those related to bloodwork, imaging, and specialist communication. However, the time invested in protected communication slots exceeded the time saved from reduced recalls, suggesting a shift in physician workload rather than an overall reduction.
conclusionAllocating protected communication time may support more flexible follow-up and improve task completion efficiency, but does not appear to meaningfully expand physician appointment access.
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