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Exploring the measure of potentially avoidable general practitioner-type presentations to the emergency department in regional Queensland using linked, patient-perspective data.
- Source :
- Australian Health Review; 2021, Vol. 45 Issue 1, p90-96, 7p
- Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Objective. To explore measures of potentially avoidable general practitioner (PAGP)-type presentations to the emergency department (ED) of a large regional hospital in northern Queensland. Methods. Linkage of an ED administrative dataset to a face-to-face patient survey of local residents (n = 1000); calculation of Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and Australasian College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM) measures of PAGP-type presentations to the ED; and exploration of these measures with patient-perspective linked data. Results. PAGP-type presenters to the ED were younger in age (median age in years: total cohort: 49; AIHW 38, P, 0.001; ACEM 36, P, 0.001); with the odds of having a chronic condition being less likely for AIHW PAGP-type presenters than other ED presenters (OR (95% CI) 0.54 (0.38-0.77): P = 0.001)) after adjustment for age. PAGP-type presenters nominated reasons of convenience rather than urgency as their rationale for attending the ED, irrespective of measure. The number of PAGP-type presentations to the ED identified by the AIHW measure was more than three-fold higher than the ACEM measure (AIHW: n = 227; ACEM: n = 67). Influencing factors include the low proportion of ED attendees who had a medical consultation time of ,1 h at this hospital site (1-month survey period: 17.8%); and differences between the patient self-report and EDadministrative record for 'self-referral to the ED' (Self-referred: Survey 71% vs EDIS 93%, P, 0.001). Conclusions. Identification of PAGP-type presentations to the ED could be enhanced with improvements to the quality of administrative processes when recording patient 'self-referral to the ED', along with further consideration of hospital site variation for the length of medical consultation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- CHI-squared test
COMPARATIVE studies
CONFIDENCE intervals
STATISTICAL correlation
FISHER exact test
HEALTH facility administration
HOSPITAL emergency services
HOSPITAL planning
LONGITUDINAL method
MEDICAL appointments
MEDICAL care use
MEDICAL referrals
MULTIVARIATE analysis
NONPARAMETRIC statistics
RESEARCH funding
STATISTICS
SURVEYS
LOGISTIC regression analysis
SEMANTIC Web
DATA analysis software
ELECTRONIC health records
PATIENTS' attitudes
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
ODDS ratio
MANN Whitney U Test
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 01565788
- Volume :
- 45
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Australian Health Review
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 148533223
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1071/AH19210