Heilbrigðisskýrslur - 02.12.1974, Síða 58

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Association.Information on the working hours of each doctor
and on the allocation of time to the various tasks was requested
Only 33 doctors provided satisfactory information on this
subject.
The annual median number of contacts with the health center was
4.5 per inhabitant.The median varied considerly from one health
district to another,but the variations seemed to be independent
of the type of health center serving the district.The results
are compared with studies in Reykjavík and in Norway,Hverpool
and Helsinki.
The average number of inhabitants served by each doctor was 1515
ranging from 618 to 243o.At the same time the average number of
patients served by 9 general practitioners in Reykjavík was 3o68
The most common reasons for contact with the health center were
infectious diseases (lo.6%),respiratory diseases (11.2%) and
diseases of the bones and the organs of movement (9.1%).
The recorded action taken could be one or more in each case.The
most common action was a prescription (6o%) followed by advice
(31.7%),a minor examination (22.2%) and a clinical examination
(17.7%).Referral to a specialist was much less frequent than in
Reykjavík; 3.1% compared to 8.2% of contacts.
The average working hours per doctor are about 5o per week in
addition to hospital duties,which are carried out by over half
of the doctors.
The median time taken per visit by a patient was 16.1 minutes,
10.5 used for each telephone consultation and 6o.o minutes for
each home visit by the doctor.The most common type of contact
was patient visit (66%) followed by the telephone consultation
(29%) and the home visit (5%).