Managing same day appointments: A qualitative study in Australian general practice

Abstract

Background General practices are required to have flexible systems to accommodate urgent appointments. Not all patients requesting a same day appointment receive one. There is scant research detailing how requests for same day appointments are managed. Our study examined this issue from the perspective of practice staff. Methods Twenty practice staff (receptionists, practice managers, general practitioners, practice nurse) from 10 general practices participated in semistructured interviews, which were audiorecorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Results All but three practices set aside appointments for patients requesting a same day appointment. Themes included contradictions betwe..