Why patients self-refer to the emergency service for nonurgency?: A mix-method survey from a family medicine perspective

Abstract

The definition of “nonurgent emergency service visits” is visits to conditions for medical conditions that require attention but are not life-threatening immediately or severe enough to require urgent intervention. This study aims to investigate the reasons why patients choose to self-refer to the emergency service (ES) instead of their primary care health center for nonurgent complaints. The study was carried out in a tertiary hospital. The survey consisted of 2 parts with sociodemographic questions, knowledge of their family physician, and the reason why it has been applied to the ES with multiple choice answers. Of the 325 patients, the mean age was 34.5 years and 54.2% were women. Also, 26 of the patients were reported as “urgent” by the doctor. The main reasons underlying self-referred patients were classified into 4 themes: “urgency” (13.8%), advantages of ES (12.9%); disadvantages of primary care (25.1%), and other (45.9%). The most common reason patients self-refer to the ES was their belief in “being urgent” (61%). In this study, 26.8%, (n = 84) of the patients are not happy with their family physicians, while only 13.2% (N = 43) prioritize the ES advantages.

Emergency room search for non-urgent patients: Literature review

“…3.15 The most common reason why patients self-refer to the ED was the patient's or family member's belief in "being urgent" (61%). 3,5,12 The Evolution of Research in Health Science Emergency room search for non-urgent patients: Literature review Young adults sometimes make "unnecessary" use of urgent and emergency care for more than convenience. Your decisions need to be understood in relation to the complexity of your experience, including a lack of confidence in health-related decision-making.…”

“…8% of the patients were considered "urgent" by the doctor. 3 The clear majority of participants were men, representing 79.4% with a mean age of 38 years, workers and living near the ED where the main factor that led patients to consult an emergency department was to obtain hospital care, including greater access to laboratory and imaging tests or subsequent hospitalization where only 2.1% of patients were actually hospitalized. 7 According to the professional criteria, the search for the ES was considered correct in 33.5%, increasing to 63.1% when the patient criteria were used.…”