Identifying and quantifying general practice-type emergency department presentations.

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Primary Health Care
• Health Services Research

Background:

• General practice-type (GP-type) presentations to emergency departments (EDs) represent a significant proportion of patient visits.
• Existing methods for identifying GP-type presentations have limitations.
• Understanding the characteristics of GP-type presentations is essential for effective healthcare planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and characterize general practice-type presentations to EDs in South-East Queensland.
• To compare clinical, socio-demographic, and time-varying factors between GP-type and non-GP-type ED presentations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from four EDs in Queensland between 2009 and 2014.
• Applied a modified Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) method to identify GP-type presentations.
• Analyzed clinical, socio-demographic, and temporal variables.

Main Results:

• GP-type presentations varied from 7% to 33% across the four EDs.
• GP-type presentations increased in three EDs and decreased in one ED between 2009 and 2014.
• Holidays, particularly Christmas/New Year, significantly impacted GP-type attendances, with over 50% of these patients aged 0-34 years.

Conclusions:

• Modified methods are needed to accurately identify GP-type ED presentations.
• Temporal factors, including holidays, are significantly associated with GP-type attendances.
• Findings support strategic planning for primary care interventions to manage GP-type presentations outside of EDs.