The effect of introducing an on-call system for attending physicians

Abstract

Gastroenterologists working in hospitals that have adopted the chief physician system are often required to work overtime during the night and on holidays treating critically ill patients and ordering emergency tests. To help alleviate the attending physician's duties, our hospital initiated an on-call system in October 2019 to replace the existing system. Changes in overtime hours worked and business stress before and after the introduction of the on-call system were verified. After the introduction of the on-call system, both overtime hours and the number of holidays worked decreased and work stress was reduced. We report that the on-call system is a suitable alternative to the attending physician system because it increases the work efficiency and satisfaction of attending physicians.