Key findings
A total of 16,863 patients responded to the survey, corresponding to a response rate of 30 percent.
At the national level, the overall results are good across all five indicators measured in the survey. The indicator values are generally in the upper part of the response scale from 0 to 100, where 100 is the highest possible value. The national results for the five indicators are:
- Telephone contact: 78
- Video call: 82*
- Experiences with doctors at the out-of-hours medical service centre: 79
- Experiences with nurses at the out-of-hours medical service centre: 80
- Organisation and waiting time: 59
* For the indicator Video call, which received a score of 82, only around 5 percent (n = 860) of those who reported having telephone contact with the out-of-hours medical service centres were offered assistance via video call. Of those who received this offer, 771 consented to use of a video call.
Variation in results between out-of-hours medical service centres
There is some variation in results (indicator scores) between out-of-hours medical service centres, but at an overall level there are small geographical differences. The results show that:
Comparison between small, medium-sized and large out-of-hours medical service centres:
- Small out-of-hours medical service centres score higher than medium-sized and large units on the indicators Experiences with physicians, Experiences with nurses, and Organisation and waiting time.
- Large out-of-hours medical service centres consistently score lowest on Organisation and waiting time.
- For Telephone contact and Video call, scores are generally high across all three size categories.
Variation among individual out-of-hours medical service centres:
- For the indicators Telephone contact, Video call, Experiences with physicians, and Experiences with nurses, scores are generally high, and no out-of-hours medical service centres stand out negatively.
- The indicator Organisation and waiting time shows the greatest variation between individual units.
Variation in results by respondent characteristics
Although the overall results are generally positive, it is important to highlight variation within the data and the characteristics of those who tend to be less satisfied with their contact with municipal out-of-hours medical services. There is a tendency that:
- Increasing age is associated with higher indicator scores. The youngest respondents (aged 16–19) score lower on all indicators compared with patients aged over 30.
- Higher education is associated with higher indicator scores. Patients whose highest level of education is primary school score lower on four of the indicators compared with patients with higher education/university education.
- Single respondents score lower than married, cohabiting, divorced/separated, and widowed respondents on four of the indicators.
- Patients with another European (non-Nordic) or non-European first language score lower on four of the indicators compared with patients whose first language is Norwegian.
- Patients with more frequent contacts with a general practitioner and/or municipal out-of-hours medical care services during the two years prior to the out-of-hours medical service centres contact, score lower on two to three indicators compared with patients with fewer contacts.
- Patients registered with a diagnosis related to mental health or social problems at the out-of-hours medical care contact, score lower on all indicators than patients registered with a somatic condition.
- Patients who had contact with specialist mental health services and/or interdisciplinary specialised substance abuse treatment during the two years prior to the out-of-hours medical care contact, score lower on all indicators compared with patients with no such contact.
The survey also includes questions about respondents’ self-rated health-related quality of life, measured using EQ-5D-5L. By answering the EQ-5D-5L questions, respondents describe their health status across five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. The responses can be combined into a single index measuring health-related quality of life. Results show that patients with better self-rated health have higher scores on all five indicators compared with patients who reported poorer self-rated health.
Calculations of the indicators
To derive the indicators, most of the survey questions were grouped by theme. Statistical methods, including factor analysis, were then used to create indicators based on these themes, and a composite score was calculated for each theme.
Using indicators in the presentation of results provides a more reliable and robust picture of users’ experiences than analysing individual questions alone. Indicator scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 represents the best possible result. For example, a score of 75 means that, on average, respondents selected the second-best of the five response categories.
Results from other survey questions
The survey includes questions about the situation and circumstances at the time municipal out-of-hours medical care services were contacted, for example, whether the patient considered the situation to be acute or not, and whether the general practitioner was contacted first. Results show that:
- 54 percent report that they experienced an acute health problem or injury when contacting the municipal out-of-hours medical care services.
- 62 percent of those who experienced an acute health problem, injury or deterioration report that their health worsened rapidly (within 0–24 hours).
- 15 percent experienced the situation as very serious and requiring immediate assistance, while 49 percent considered the situation serious, requiring assistance within a few hours.
- 25 percent reported that the situation was less serious and that they could have waited until the next day.
- 11 percent attempted to contact their general practitioner before contacting municipal out-of-hours medical care services.
- Of the 89 percent who did not contact their general practitioner, 48 percent did not attempt to contact the GP before contacting municipal out-of-hours medical care services, and 29 percent reported that the GP was not available at the time.
Telephone contact with municipal out-of-hours medical care services:
- 84 percent of patients report having had telephone contact with municipal out-of-hours medical care services.
- 86 percent of those who had telephone contact felt that the time it took to reach the service by phone was not long, or took only a short time
Attendance at the out-of-hours medical service centres:
- 82 percent of patients report that they attended the out-of-hours medical service centres in-person.
- 82 percent of these had scheduled an appointment in advance.
- 52 percent reported being accompanied by a family member, companion or someone else.
Travel time for those who attended the facility:
- 71 percent of respondents travelled less than 30 minutes to the out-of-hours medical service centre.
- 81 percent arrived by car.
- 80 percent reported that travel time was acceptable to a large or very large extent.
Waiting time at the facility:
- 74 percent report waiting up to 30 minutes before examination or treatment.
- 2 percent report waiting more than three hours.
Follow-up after contact with municipal out-of-hours medical services:
- 58 percent report a need for further follow-up after their contact with out-of-hours medical services, of whom 41 percent received follow-up from their general practitioner.
- 37 percent reported being later admitted to hospital or another healthcare institution.
Need for interpretation services:
- Only one percent (195 patients) of respondents reported a need for an interpreter.
- Of these, around half were offered interpretation services.
- Among those who were offered an interpreter, the majority reported to a large or very large extent that the interpretation service functioned satisfactorily.
Background
In Norway, the municipalities are responsible for providing an out-of-hours medical service that meets the population’s need for immediate medical assistance. Parliamentary White Paper No. 23 (2024–2025) on acute medical services highlighted the importance of having an accessible and coherent acute medical care chain. In connection with the White Paper, a number of measures were proposed. One of these measures was to conduct a user experience survey among patients who had been in contact with the municipal out-of-hours medical service during 2025.
On assignment from the Ministry of Health and Care Services (HOD), the Directorate of Health (Hdir) conducted a user experience survey among out-of-hours patients in 2025. The purpose of the survey is to obtain knowledge about how the services are experienced at different out-of-hours medical service centres and to provide a basis for systematic quality improvement in municipal out-of-hours medical service centres. The survey was carried out with support from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH/FHI).
The out-of-hours medical services survey is part of the ten-year plan for national patient, user and next-of-kin surveys to be conducted by the Directorate of Health on assignment from the Ministry of Health and Care Services in 2024, and which was endorsed by the Ministry.