[Variability in Spanish National Health System hospital emergency services utilization]

The aims of this study were to estimate the rate of hospital emergency services (HES) visits per health area, the associated percentage of admissions and the standardized HES utilization ratio, and to analyze their relationship with hospital resources.

We performed an ecological study that combined information from distinct sources (Survey of Health Care Hospitalization Establishments 2006 and Minimum Data Set 2006) to estimate the rate of HES visits and the percentage of associated emergency admissions in 164 health areas in 14 autonomous communities (AC).

Among 35.3 million inhabitants in the 164 areas examined, there were 16.2 million visits to the HES (45.75 per 100 inhabitants); more than 2 million (12.6%) were hospitalized. Excluding 5% of extreme areas, rates oscillated between 31.60 and 78.69 HES visits/100 inhabitants, and the percentage of admissions was between 7.6% and 27.9%. These differences were not attenuated after standardization. The AC factor explained 29% of variance in HES visits and 82% of variance in admissions. The rate of visits was not associated with the number of beds or staff physicians but did correlate with the number HES doctors, and smaller and non-teaching hospitals.

There is wide variability in the rates of HES visits and emergency admissions in the different areas of the Spanish National Health System. This variability seems to be associated with a differential use for minor problems.