Paediatric emergency department referrals from primary care

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• General Practice
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Paediatric referrals from general practitioners (GPs) to emergency departments (EDs) have risen by 60% in Australia over the past decade.
• There is an increasing absolute number of children presenting to Victorian EDs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the characteristics of Victorian children with lower-urgency conditions referred by GPs to the ED.
• To understand referral patterns from general practice to emergency care for paediatric patients.

Main Methods:

• Data collected from four hospital EDs in Victoria between May and November 2014.
• Parents of children triaged as lower urgency were surveyed.
• Descriptive, frequency, and bivariate analyses were performed on 1150 responses.

Main Results:

• 28% of surveyed children had visited their GP before attending the ED.
• Of those who saw a GP first, 66% were referred to the ED.
• Children with injuries were more likely to be referred by a GP (84%) than those with illnesses (59%).

Conclusions:

• The motivations behind GP referrals for lower-urgency paediatric conditions require further investigation.
• High referral rates suggest a need for policy makers and health professionals to examine current general practice care patterns for children.
• Enhanced GP support, resources, or education may be beneficial for managing lower-urgency paediatric conditions in primary care.