National Centre for Emergency Primary Health Care, Uni Health, Kalfarveien 31, Bergen, Norway.
Scand J Prim Health Care. 2011 Mar;29(1):39-44. doi: 10.3109/02813432.2010.545209. Epub 2010 Dec 29.
Many consultations are partly or totally spent on minor ailments. A minor ailment is defined as a health complaint which, by simple actions, patients could handle themselves.
To investigate the prevalence, type of conditions, and time spent on minor ailments in consultations in out-of-hours care in Norway.
An observational study of consultations at six out-of-hours primary care centres was carried out during evenings and weekends in November and December 2008. Main outcome measures were number and type of minor ailments, as well as consultation time. The minor ailments were predefined by a list of conditions. Conditions which, by certain pre-set criteria, still needed a doctor's professional advice were reclassified as "no minor ailment".
A total of 210 consultations were observed. The patients' mean age was 28 years (range 0-94). Cough, fever, sore throat, upper respiratory tract infection, and earache contributed 76% of the 211 minor ailments registered. After reclassification, 58 (28%) of the 210 consultations registered were classified as partly or totally a minor ailment. These minor ailments represented 18% of the doctors' total consultation time in the 210 observed consultations.
More than a quarter of the observed consultations were partly or totally spent on addressing minor ailments. This shows a potential for empowering patients to rely on self-care also for minor ailments in out-of-hours primary care.
许多就诊时间部分或完全用于处理小病。小病的定义是指通过简单的行动，患者可以自行处理的健康问题。
调查挪威非工作时间医疗中，就诊时小病的患病率、病种和所花费的时间。
2008 年 11 月至 12 月，对挪威六家非工作时间初级保健中心的夜间和周末就诊进行了观察性研究。主要观察指标为小病的数量和类型，以及就诊时间。小病通过一份预先设定的疾病清单来定义。根据某些预设标准，仍需要医生专业建议的疾病被重新归类为“非小病”。
共观察到 210 次就诊。患者的平均年龄为 28 岁（0-94 岁）。咳嗽、发热、咽痛、上呼吸道感染和耳痛占登记的 211 种小病的 76%。重新分类后，210 次就诊中有 58 次（28%）被归类为部分或完全是小病。这些小病占医生在 210 次观察就诊中总就诊时间的 18%。
超过四分之一的观察就诊时间部分或完全用于处理小病。这表明，在非工作时间的初级保健中，有潜力让患者能够自行处理小病。
