The Impact of Flexible Working Hours in Family Medicine Practice on Emergency Department Admissions

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency of emergency department admissions (EDA) and related factors in the last year among patients admitted to family health centers (FHC) with and without flexible working hours (FWH).
METHODS: This study was conducted in 6 regions in Turkey, 50 FHCs were selected for each study region by random sampling and the first nine patients who applied to the FHC were included in the study. Patients who applied to emergency department health services at least once for any health problem in the last year were considered to have EDA.
RESULTS: A total of 2605 patients were included in the study, and EDA was found in 1024 (39.3%) of the patients. EDA was detected in 246 (41.5%) patients with FHCs with FWH and 778 (36.7%) patients with FHCs without FWH (p=0.232). In addition, there was no significant difference between patients with and without FWH in the distance of the FHC from home, the frequency of making an appointment to see the FP, the ease of making an appointment, the waiting time after making the appointment, and the limitation of the working hours of the FHC (p>0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: It has been determined that the presence of FWH did not cause a difference in terms of EDA, and further studies are needed on the reasons for this.