Characteristics of patients presenting to the vascular emergency department of a tertiary care hospital: a 2-year study

BACKGROUND: The structure of health care in Greece is receiving increased attention to improve its cost-effectiveness. We sought to examine the epidemiological characteristics of patients presenting to the vascular emergency department of a Greek tertiary care hospital during a 2-year period. We studied all patients presenting to the emergency department of vascular surgery at Red Cross Hospital, Athens, Greece between 1(st )January 2009 and 31st December 2010. RESULTS: Overall, 2452 (49.4%) out of 4961 patients suffered from pathologies that should have been treated in primary health care. Only 2509 (50.6%) needed vascular surgical intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The emergency department of vascular surgery in a Greek tertiary care hospital has to treat a remarkably high percentage of patients suitable for the primary health care level. These results suggest that an improvement in the structure of health care is needed in Greece.