Dataset Information

Emergency department visits for non-urgent conditions in Iran: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To determine the percentage of non-urgent (NU) visits in an Iranian emergency department (ED), to explore why patients with NU conditions refer to EDs and also to assess the association between patients' characteristics and their visits.

Design

A cross sectional study based on face to face survey.

Setting

A territorial, teaching and military hospital in Tehran province, Iran.

Participants and data collection

All patients who visited the ED during the 2-week period were recruited. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire.

Results

Of 1884 patients who visited the ED, 1217 (64.6%) patients were triaged as NU while 667 (35.4%) were urgent and semiurgent visits cases. The most important reasons for NU visits were seeking prompt (36.6%) and less costly care (35.9%). We found that NU visits have increased with younger patients, during weekends and night shifts, and with patients suffering from recurrent symptoms lasting in 1?week or less.

Conclusions

EDs are a common source of care for NU problems in Iran. The most invaluable solution is building up special clinics for providing healthcare services to NU patients during the weekends and, in the busy and night shifts. Receiving higher fees from NU patients could also be adopted with caution. Promoting awareness and knowledge of both healthcare providers and patients about the main role of EDs will contribute in improving their performance. As a long-term solution, adopting the family physician programme and ameliorating the referral system are recommended.

SUBMITTER: Bahadori M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6797411 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Emergency department visits for non-urgent conditions in Iran: a cross-sectional study.

Bahadori Mohammadkarim M Mousavi Seyyed Meysam SM Teymourzadeh Ehsan E Ravangard Ramin R

BMJ open 20191009 10

<h4>Objectives</h4>To determine the percentage of non-urgent (NU) visits in an Iranian emergency department (ED), to explore why patients with NU conditions refer to EDs and also to assess the association between patients' characteristics and their visits.<h4>Design</h4>A cross sectional study based on face to face survey.<h4>Setting</h4>A territorial, teaching and military hospital in Tehran province, Iran.<h4>Participants and data collection</h4>All patients who visited the ED during the 2-wee ...[more]

PMID: 31601591

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Project description:PURPOSE:To determine the frequency of emergency department (ED) visits for nonurgent and urgent ocular conditions and risk factors associated with ED use for nonurgent and urgent ocular problems. DESIGN:Retrospective, longitudinal cohort analysis. PARTICIPANTS:All enrollees aged 21 years or older in a United States managed care network during 2001-2014. METHODS:We identified all enrollees visiting an ED for ocular conditions identified by International Classification of Diseases, billing codes. Diagnosis is well-described as urgent, nonurgent, or other. We assessed the frequency of ED visits for urgent and nonurgent ocular conditions and how they changed over time. Next, we performed multivariable Cox regression modeling to determine factors associated with visiting an ED for urgent or nonurgent ocular conditions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of visiting an ED for urgent or nonurgent ocular conditions. RESULTS:Of the 11?160?833 enrollees eligible for this study, 376 680 (3.4%) had 1 or more ED visit for an eye-related problem over a mean ± standard deviation of 5.4±3.3 years' follow-up. Among these enrolled, 86 473 (23.0%) had 1 or more ED visits with a nonurgent ocular condition and 25 289 (6.7%) had at least 1 ED visit with an urgent ocular condition. Use of the ED for nonurgent ocular problems was associated with younger age (P < 0.0001 for all comparisons), black race or Latino ethnicity (P < 0.0001 for both), male sex (P < 0.0001), lower income (P < 0.0001 for all comparisons), and those who frequently sought treatment at an ED for nonophthalmologic medical problems in a given year (P < 0.0001). Enrollees with established eye care professionals had a 10% reduced hazard of visiting the ED for nonurgent ocular conditions (adjusted HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.88-0.92; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS:Nearly one-quarter of enrollees who visited the ED for an ocular problem received a diagnosis of a nonurgent condition. Better educating and incentivizing patients to seek care for nonurgent ocular diseases in an office-based setting could yield considerable cost savings without adversely affecting health outcomes and could allow EDs to better serve patients with more severe conditions.

Dataset Information

Emergency department visits for non-urgent conditions in Iran: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants and data collection

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Emergency department visits for non-urgent conditions in Iran: a cross-sectional study.

Similar Datasets

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