Predicting sepsis-related mortality and ICU admissions from telephone triage information of patients presenting to out-of-hours GP cooperatives with acute infections: A cohort study of linked routine care databases.

Background: General practitioners (GPs) often assess patients with acute infections. It is challenging for GPs to recognize patients needing immediate hospital referral for sepsis while avoiding unnecessary referrals. This study aimed to predict adverse sepsis-related outcomes from telephone triage information of patients presenting to out-of-hours GP cooperatives.

The accuracy and feasibility of respiratory rate measurements in acutely ill adult patients by GPs: a mixed-methods study.

Background: Tachypnoea in acutely ill patients can be an early sign of a life-threatening condition such as sepsis. Routine measurement of the respiratory rate by GPs might improve the recognition of sepsis.

Aim: To assess the accuracy and feasibility of respiratory rate measurements by GPs.

Early experiences with quality-assured HbA1c and professional glucose point-of-care testing in general practice: a cross-sectional observational study among patients, nurses and doctors.

Background: Point-of-care testing (POCT) is increasingly used in primary care. The rapid availability of the test result during the patient encounter increases the potential for patients and care providers to make a direct and joint decision on disease management. Our aim was to get insight into the first experiences of patients and healthcare professionals after introducing quality-controlled HbA1c and professional glucose POCT in diabetes care in their own general practices.

New clinical prediction model for early recognition of sepsis in adult primary care patients: a prospective diagnostic cohort study of development and external validation.

Background: Recognising patients who need immediate hospital treatment for sepsis while simultaneously limiting unnecessary referrals is challenging for GPs.

Aim: To develop and validate a sepsis prediction model for adult patients in primary care.

Design And Setting: This was a prospective cohort study in four out-of-hours primary care services in the Netherlands, conducted between June 2018 and March 2020.

Reliability and validity of the Netherlands Triage Standard in emergency care settings: a case scenario study.

Background: The Netherlands Triage Standard (NTS) is a triage system that can be used by different types of emergency care organisations. Our objective was to determine the interrater reliability and construct validity of the NTS when applied to self-presenting patients.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional case scenario study consisting of two parts: (1) paediatric triage in January-February 2019 and (2) adult triage in October-November 2020.

Effects of access to radiology in out-of-hours primary care on patient satisfaction and length of stay.

Background: Direct 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.

Objectives: To provide insight into the LOS and experiences of trauma patients with an indication for radiology at GP cooperatives with and without access to radiology.

Methods: A 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.

Vital signs of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome in adult patients with acute infections presenting in out-of-hours primary care: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Signs of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) - fever (or hypothermia), tachycardia and tachypnoea - are used in the hospital setting to identify patients with possible sepsis.

Objectives: To determine how frequently abnormalities in the vital signs of SIRS are present in adult out-of-hours (OOH) primary care patients with suspected infections and assess the association with acute hospital referral.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study at the OOH GP cooperative in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, between August and October 2015.

[The Netherlands Triage Standard applied to paediatric patients in emergency medicine: is it reliable and valid?].

Objective: To determine the inter-rater reliability and validity of the Netherlands Triage Standard (NTS) for paediatric triage.

Design: A cross-sectional study using fictional cases for telephone and physical triage.

Method: An expert panel established in advance the urgency of 40 cases concerning emergency help requests from non-referred children (the reference standard).

Out-of-hours primary care in 26 European countries: an overview of organizational models.

Background: Various models exist to organize out-of-hours primary care (OOH-PC). We aimed to provide an up-to-date overview of prevailing organizational models in the European Union (EU), implemented changes over the last decade and future plans. This baseline overview may provide information for countries considering remodelling their OOH-PC system.

Substitution of general practitioners by nurse practitioners in out-of-hours primary care home visits: A quasi-experimental study.

Background: General practitioners experience a high workload during out-of-hours care. A possible solution is the shifting of care to nurse practitioners.

Objectives: To provide insight into patient- and care characteristics, safety, efficiency, and patient satisfaction of substituting general practitioners with nurse practitioners for home visits by out-of-hours primary care services.

Acute rule-out of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome in the (pre)hospital setting by HEART score assessment and a single point-of-care troponin: rationale and design of the ARTICA randomised trial.

Introduction: Because of the lack of prehospital protocols to rule out a non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS), patients with chest pain are often transferred to the emergency department (ED) for thorough evaluation. However, in low-risk patients, an ACS is rarely found, resulting in unnecessary healthcare consumption. Using the HEART (History, ECG, Age, Risk factors and Troponin) score, low-risk patients are easily identified.

Management of sepsis in out-of-hours primary care: a retrospective study of patients admitted to the intensive care unit.

Objectives: Timely recognition and treatment of sepsis is essential to reduce mortality and morbidity. Acutely ill patients often consult a general practitioner (GP) as the first healthcare provider. During out-of-hours, GP cooperatives deliver this care in the Netherlands.

[Migrants' motives and expectations for contacting out-of-hours primary care].

Background: Migrants relatively often use out-of-hours primary care. The objective of this study is to examine the motives and expectations of migrants for contacting out-of-hours primary care.

Methods: We used data from a survey study of 11,483 patients who contacted a General Practitioner (GP) cooperative in the Netherlands between 2009 and 2014 (response rate 45.

[Early recognition of sepsis; a diagnostic challenge for the general practitioner].

Early recognition and treatment of sepsis is essential to prevent morbidity and mortality. Many sepsis patients are initially assessed by a general practitioner (GP). Delay can be prevented if patients are referred to the hospital as soon as possible.

Availability of Dutch General Practitioners for After-Hours Palliative Care.

Background: Continuity of care is important for palliative patients in their end of life. In the Netherlands, after-hours primary care for palliative patients is either provided by large-scale general practitioner (GP) cooperatives or GPs choose to give palliative care by themselves while they are not on duty.

Aim: To examine the availability of, perceived problems by, and attitude of Dutch GPs regarding providing palliative care for their own patients outside office hours.

Patient safety culture in out-of-hours primary care services in the Netherlands: a cross-sectional survey.

Objective: To examine patient safety culture in Dutch out-of-hours primary care using the safety attitudes questionnaire (SAQ) which includes five factors: teamwork climate, safety climate, job satisfaction, perceptions of management and communication openness.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study using an anonymous web-survey. Setting Sixteen out-of-hours general practitioner (GP) cooperatives and two call centers in the Netherlands.

Ambulance dispatch versus general practitioner home visit for highly urgent out-of-hours primary care.

Background: Patients with life-threatening conditions who contact out-of-hours primary care either receive a home visit from a GP of a GP cooperative (GPC) or are handed over to the ambulance service.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether highly urgent visits, after a call to the GPC, are delivered by the most appropriate healthcare provider: GPC or ambulance service.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study using patient record data from a GPC and ambulance service in an urban district in The Netherlands.

Development and testing of the KERNset: an instrument to assess the quality of telephone triage in out-of-hours primary care services.

Background: Telephone triage is a core but vulnerable part of the care process at out-of-hours general practitioner (GP) cooperatives. In the Netherlands, different instruments have been used for assessing the quality of telephone triage. These instruments focussed mainly on communicational aspects, and less on the medical quality of triage decisions.

Migrants' motives and expectations for contacting out-of-hours primary care: a survey study.

Background: Migrants are more likely to use out-of-hours primary care, especially for nonurgent problems. Their motives and expectations for help-seeking are as yet unknown. The objective of this study is to examine the motives and expectations of migrants for contacting out-of-hours primary care.

Effects of access to radiology in out-of-hours primary care in the Netherlands: a prospective observational study.

Background: In the Netherlands, out-of-hours primary care is provided in general-practitioner-cooperatives (GPCs). These are increasingly located on site with emergency departments (ED), forming Emergency-Care-Access-Points (ECAP). A more efficient and economical organization of out-of-hours primary emergency care could be realized by increased collaboration at an ECAP.

Patient and care characteristics of self-referrals treated by the general practitioner cooperative at emergency-care-access-points in the Netherlands.

Background: In the Netherlands, out-of-hours primary care is provided in general practitioner-cooperatives (GPCs). These are increasingly located on site and in collaboration with emergency departments of hospitals (ED). At such sites, also called emergency-care-access-points (ECAP), the GPC is generally responsible for the triage and treatment of self-referrals who used to attend the ED.

The impact of demand management strategies on parents' decision-making for out-of-hours primary care: findings from a survey in The Netherlands.

Objective: To explore the potential impact of demand management strategies on patient decision-making in medically non-urgent and urgent scenarios during out-of-hours for children between the ages of 0 and 4 years.

Design And Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey with paper-based case scenarios. A survey was sent to all 797 parents of children aged between 0 and 4 years from four Dutch general practitioner (GP) practices.

Recognition of sepsis in primary care: a survey among GPs.

Background: Early recognition and treatment of sepsis are important to reduce morbidity and mortality. Screening tools using vital signs are effective in emergency departments. It is not known how the decision to refer a patient to the hospital with a possible serious infection is made in primary care.

The Development and Performance of After-Hours Primary Care in the Netherlands: A Narrative Review.

In many Western countries, hospital emergency departments are overcrowded, leading to the desire to strengthen primary care, particularly after hours. To achieve this goal, an increasing number of Western nations are reorganizing their after-hours primary care systems into large-scale primary care physician (PCP) cooperatives. This article provides an overview of the organization, performance, and development of PCP cooperatives in the Netherlands.