Decrease in emergency medical services utilization during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia.

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare access, with prior research focusing on high-incidence areas.
• Understanding changes in emergency health services (EHS) utilization in low-incidence settings is crucial for resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate changes in EHS use in British Columbia during the early COVID-19 pandemic (March 15–May 15, 2020) compared to 2019.
• To analyze trends in critical care complaints and overall EHS encounters in a region with low COVID-19 incidence.

Main Methods:

• A comparative analysis of EHS encounters in British Columbia between March 15–May 15, 2020, and the same period in 2019.
• Categorization of EHS encounters into 18 presenting complaints, including critical care conditions like major trauma, cardiac arrest, stroke, and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).
• Descriptive statistical methods were employed for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Total EHS encounters decreased by 15% (133 per 100,000 person-months) from 2019 to 2020.
• Significant reductions were observed across most of the top 18 presenting complaints, excluding respiratory and anxiety-related visits.
• Encounters for critically ill patients decreased by 9% (3.1 per 100,000 person-months), with notable drops in stroke, trauma, and STEMI, while out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) incidence remained stable.

Conclusions:

• A low COVID-19 incidence area experienced a substantial 15% reduction in overall EHS utilization and a 9% decrease in critical illness cases.
• These findings underscore the need for emergency health services planners to adapt resource allocation strategies based on evolving patient needs during public health crises.