As the National Health Insurance Law obligates the sick funds to provide their members with medical services 24 hours a day, the sick funds have created a new service -“night services” – which allows an individual to order a physician house call, usually from a private company that is under contract to his sick fund. These commercial providers conduct a significant portion of the house calls that are made at night. The minimal copayment for this service is NIS 75.
The goal of the study was to evaluate how this service is provided; patterns of its use; the medical needs of the people who use it; the appropriateness of use; whether the service is an alternative to the emergency room, medical centers and clinics; the nature of the medical care provided through this service; waiting times; and satisfaction.