The national after-hours GP helpline (AGPH) may have prevented over a thousand unnecessary attendances at emergency departments due to medication-related concerns in one year but the general public's limited knowledge of the existence of the service may also have limited its effectiveness.

In a new study published in Australian Family Physician this month, Amina Tariq and colleagues from the Australian Institute of Health Innovation at Macquarie University have explored the actual use of the helpline, which is run by Healthdirect Australia on behalf of the federal government.