Non-urgent visits among patients seen at the emergency department of King Hussein Medical Center

Abstract EN

Objective : The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of non urgent visits among patients attending the Emergency Department at King Hussein Medical Center, and to describe the common presenting conditions for non urgent visits among the study group.

Method : This study was conducted at the Emergency Department in King Hussein Medical Center during April 2013.

According to the Emergency Department statistics a total of 12,483 patients were seen at Emergency department between 1st to 30th of April 2013.

A sample of 665 patients were randomly selected through systemic sampling method.

All days of the week (day and night shifts including weekends) were included.

A specially designed medical record abstract form was used to collect the relevant data.

Simple descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage and mean) were used to describe the study variables.

Result : A sample 665 patients were studied; 65.6 % were male, and 34.4 % were female.

The age range of patients was 11-90 years.

Non urgent cases constituted 440 patients (66.2 %), life threatening were 40 patients (6.0 %), and urgent cases were 185 patients (27.8 %).

Among the study group, the admission frequency to the hospital wards as follows: different hospital wards 183 (27.5 %), CCU 20 (3.0 %), ICU 22 (3.3 %), and discharge frequency (66.2 %).

Trauma (16.4 %), cardiovascular (13.7 %), respiratory (12.9 %) were the most common conditions among the study group, while endocrine (1.1 %) and ophthalmology (2.9 %) were the least common.

The number of non urgent visits was higher in males than females (66.6 % versus 33.4 %).

Non urgent Emergency Department visits was higher in the younger age group ( < 30 years) compared with the older age group (> 50 years).

The commonest presenting condition among non urgent patients was minor trauma (20.2 %) and the least was eye allergy (1.6 %).

The discharge frequency among non urgent visit was 66.2 %.

Non urgent Emergency Department visits were most frequent during 1st shift, 2nd shift and weekends compared with night shift.

Conclusion : About two thirds of Emergency Department visits were considered to be non-urgent.

Use of the Emergency Department for non urgent conditions may lead to excessive healthcare expenditure, unnecessary testing and treatment.

Further analytical studies should be conducted to describe the difference between the study variables.