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. 2019 Nov 12;16(22):4431.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph16224431.

Profile and Motivation of Patients Consulting in Emergency Departments While not Requiring Such a Level of Care

Daniel Aiham Ghazali  1   2   3   4 , Arnaud Richard  1   2 , Arnaud Chaudet  5 , Christophe Choquet  1   2 , Maximilien Guericolas  1   2 , Enrique Casalino  1   2   4
Affiliations

Profile and Motivation of Patients Consulting in Emergency Departments While not Requiring Such a Level of Care

Daniel Aiham Ghazali et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Consultations that do not require an emergency department (ED) level of care have increased. We explored attitudes of non-urgent patients in two academic hospitals in France with a similar fast track organization. One of them is a Parisian hospital with 90,000 patients/year who are admitted to the ED, while the other admits 40,000 patients/year in a smaller city. During one month in 2018, the triage nurse handed out a survey to patients coming for non-urgent consultations. It was given back to the fast track physician at the end of the visit; 598 patients agreed to answer. They were mostly young males with adequate social coverage, consulting for osteo-articular pathologies, without any significant difference between the two sites (p = 0.32). They were equally satisfied with the care they received (p = 0.38). Satisfaction was inversely correlated to waiting time (p < 0.0001). Convenience, accessibility of emergency facilities, and geographic proximity were motivation factors. These results suggest that primary care providers who can access testing facilities in accordance with patient needs might be a solution to help reduce overcrowding in EDs.

Keywords: emergency department; motivation; non-urgent consult; overcrowding; profile.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare having no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) 2010 Flow Chart.
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