A Scoping Review of After-Hours House Call Systems and Outcome in Different Countries

Abstract

Introduction: We performed a scoping review of after-hours primary care to examine delivery models of after-hours house calls and their use, and conducted outcome evaluation studies of after-hours house calls.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and Ichuu-shi were used to identify studies published between 2000 and 2021. We selected studies that explained the after-hours house call system or studies that included outcome evaluation.

Results: We included 109 studies. The system of after-hours house calls varied in each country. There were one to four research reports on the actual situation of after-hours house calls in each country; however, there were no nationwide reports in Japan. After-hours house calls accounted for the lowest proportion of after-hours care. Only observational studies were found for the impacts of satisfaction and utilization of emergency department services as outcome evaluations for after-hours house-call services.

Conclusion: Further research on the after-hours care system is needed, and further discussions based on the results of the study are required.