Primary Care Center After-Hours Call Schedules

Purpose: To provide our patients with ready access to physicians for appropriate health care needs that is equitable to all physicians. 

1. Primary Care Center call will be allocated in six (6) month blocks (July-December and January-June).

2. The number of call days will be assigned per academic year based on the number of clinics a Primary Care Center physicians has per week.

a. 1-2 clinics/week = up to 14 days of call per academic year

b. 3-4 clinics/week = up to 21 days of call per academic year

c. 5+ clinics/week = up to 28 days of call per academic year

3. Call should be allocated in 2-3 day blocks of time.

4. One physician will cover call for the entire weekend.

5. Attempts will be made to allocate the Primary Care Center call dates during the dates the physician is also attending in the hospital.

6. Attempts will be made to not schedule a physician for the same holidays two academic years in a row (i.e., Memorial Day, July Fourth, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years).

7. In the case that the provider on call can not be reached, on-call concerns will be addressed by the Primary Care Center Medical Director. 

On-call Guidelines 

1. Document all calls in Allscripts.  Alternatively, ensure the HealthEast triage center sends documentation about the call to the Primary Care Center.
2. Communicate important information from the call night to the patient’s primary care provider either in person or via Allscripts task.
3. Access to Allscripts when you are on call is not absolute but certainly helpful.
4. Calls should be returned within 10 minutes of their receipt.

Schedules