[Utilization of hospital emergency services in Andalusia (1987)]

A study out the inter-hospital information system (INIHOS) of the Servicio Andaluz de Salud has been carried for 25 hospitals, during 1987. One out of four inhabitants in Andalucía have utilized the emergency rooms of hospitals. An analysis of variance has permitted to find statistically significant differences (p less than 0.05) among three groups of hospitals, as classified according to the total number of emergencies attended. Biger hospitals attend more emergencies by inhabitant from its catchment area (0.426) than the intermediate (0.285) and the smaller (0.223). The latter perform more complementary explorations (0.76 Rx studies by patients) than the bigger ones (0.525). However, there are no inter-group differences for the proportions of patients hospitalized of those admitted in emergency rooms (global mean of 18.3%). After a multiple regression analysis, it can be concluded that the number of hospital beds explains up to 95% of the variance of the 4 subgroups of hospital as defined by their size (big/small hospitals) and by their location (Mediterranean coast/elsewhere). Thus, it can be explained the biger rate of emergency room admissions/inhabitant found in Granada and Málaga. It is concluded that the utilization of emergency rooms increases when more services are offered. (Gac Sanit 1989; 3(10): 313-9).