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Analysis of Emergency Department Use by Non-Urgent Patients and Their Visit Characteristics at an Academic Center

OBJECTIVE: We studied the extent and reasons for non-urgent emergency department (ED) visits in a single university hospital, their predictors, and patient outcomes to propose solutions suitable for Middle Eastern healthcare systems. DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective review of electronic medical...

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Autores principales: Alnasser, Sara, Alharbi, Maryam, AAlibrahim, Ahmad, Aal ibrahim, Ali, Kentab, Osama, Alassaf, Wajdan, Aljahany, Muna
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Dove 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9880025/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36711428
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S391126
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author Alnasser, Sara
Alharbi, Maryam
AAlibrahim, Ahmad
Aal ibrahim, Ali
Kentab, Osama
Alassaf, Wajdan
Aljahany, Muna
author_facet Alnasser, Sara
Alharbi, Maryam
AAlibrahim, Ahmad
Aal ibrahim, Ali
Kentab, Osama
Alassaf, Wajdan
Aljahany, Muna
author_sort Alnasser, Sara
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVE: We studied the extent and reasons for non-urgent emergency department (ED) visits in a single university hospital, their predictors, and patient outcomes to propose solutions suitable for Middle Eastern healthcare systems. DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective review of electronic medical records, including all non- and less-urgent ED visits with complete triage records (levels 4 and 5 triage based on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) over one year. The data on patient demographics, visit characteristics, and patient disposition were analyzed using SPSS software. SETTING: The study was conducted in the ED at King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz University Hospital (KAAUH), a Saudi university hospital located within the campus of Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University. PARTICIPANTS: A chart review was carried out for 18,880 patients with CTAS 4 or 5 visiting the KAAUH ED between July 2020 and July 2021. Additionally, a total of “11,857” patients with missing triage acuity or CTAS levels 1, 2, or 3 were excluded from the study. RESULTS: The majority (61.4%) of the 30,737 ED visits were less-urgent or non-urgent. The most common reasons for non-urgent visits were routine examination/investigation (40.9%), medication refilling (14.6%), and upper respiratory tract infection/symptoms (9.9%). Most visits (73.4%) were during weekdays and resulted in the prescription of medication (94.2%), laboratory tests (62.8%), sick leaves (4.7%), radiology examinations (3.6%), and a visit to primary healthcare clinics (family medicine) within a week of the emergency visit (3.6%). CONCLUSION: Less- and non-urgent ED visits often did not need any further follow-ups or admission and represented a burden better managed by a primary healthcare center. Policymakers should mitigate unnecessary ED visits through public awareness, establish clear regulations for ED visits, improve the quality of care in primary healthcare centers, facilitate booking for outpatient department appointments, and regulate the systems of payment coverage/insurance and referral by other organizations.
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spelling pubmed-98800252023-01-28 Analysis of Emergency Department Use by Non-Urgent Patients and Their Visit Characteristics at an Academic Center Alnasser, Sara Alharbi, Maryam AAlibrahim, Ahmad Aal ibrahim, Ali Kentab, Osama Alassaf, Wajdan Aljahany, Muna Int J Gen Med Original Research OBJECTIVE: We studied the extent and reasons for non-urgent emergency department (ED) visits in a single university hospital, their predictors, and patient outcomes to propose solutions suitable for Middle Eastern healthcare systems. DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective review of electronic medical records, including all non- and less-urgent ED visits with complete triage records (levels 4 and 5 triage based on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) over one year. The data on patient demographics, visit characteristics, and patient disposition were analyzed using SPSS software. SETTING: The study was conducted in the ED at King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz University Hospital (KAAUH), a Saudi university hospital located within the campus of Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University. PARTICIPANTS: A chart review was carried out for 18,880 patients with CTAS 4 or 5 visiting the KAAUH ED between July 2020 and July 2021. Additionally, a total of “11,857” patients with missing triage acuity or CTAS levels 1, 2, or 3 were excluded from the study. RESULTS: The majority (61.4%) of the 30,737 ED visits were less-urgent or non-urgent. The most common reasons for non-urgent visits were routine examination/investigation (40.9%), medication refilling (14.6%), and upper respiratory tract infection/symptoms (9.9%). Most visits (73.4%) were during weekdays and resulted in the prescription of medication (94.2%), laboratory tests (62.8%), sick leaves (4.7%), radiology examinations (3.6%), and a visit to primary healthcare clinics (family medicine) within a week of the emergency visit (3.6%). CONCLUSION: Less- and non-urgent ED visits often did not need any further follow-ups or admission and represented a burden better managed by a primary healthcare center. Policymakers should mitigate unnecessary ED visits through public awareness, establish clear regulations for ED visits, improve the quality of care in primary healthcare centers, facilitate booking for outpatient department appointments, and regulate the systems of payment coverage/insurance and referral by other organizations. Dove 2023-01-20 /pmc/articles/PMC9880025/ /pubmed/36711428 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S391126 Text en © 2023 Alnasser et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) ). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms (https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php).
spellingShingle Original Research
Alnasser, Sara
Alharbi, Maryam
AAlibrahim, Ahmad
Aal ibrahim, Ali
Kentab, Osama
Alassaf, Wajdan
Aljahany, Muna
Analysis of Emergency Department Use by Non-Urgent Patients and Their Visit Characteristics at an Academic Center
title Analysis of Emergency Department Use by Non-Urgent Patients and Their Visit Characteristics at an Academic Center
title_full Analysis of Emergency Department Use by Non-Urgent Patients and Their Visit Characteristics at an Academic Center
title_fullStr Analysis of Emergency Department Use by Non-Urgent Patients and Their Visit Characteristics at an Academic Center
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of Emergency Department Use by Non-Urgent Patients and Their Visit Characteristics at an Academic Center
title_short Analysis of Emergency Department Use by Non-Urgent Patients and Their Visit Characteristics at an Academic Center
title_sort analysis of emergency department use by non-urgent patients and their visit characteristics at an academic center
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9880025/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36711428
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S391126
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