[Short emergency hospitalization]

In France, the number of admissions to emergency departments increase by 5 to 10 per cent per year. Traditionally, patients who require services beyond the first hours in the emergency department have been admitted to the acute care hospital. Observation unit are becoming common in hospitals because they allow an additional option to admission or discharge. In France, 60 per cent of emergency departments have observation units. Five to ten per cent of patients seen in an emergency department are transferred to the observation unit. These observation units are staffed with emergency personnel specifically assigned to the function of the unit. The average period of observation is less than 48 h. Of the patients observed, 50 per cent are discharged after extended observation and treatment. These observation units can be a safe, effective and cost-saving way of ensuring that patients who are considered to be in an intermediate category receive appropriate care.