Stratmann W C, Ullman R
Med Care. 1975 Dec;13(12):1033-43. doi: 10.1097/00005650-197512000-00005.
Contrary to the traditional role of the emergency room (ER) as a care source for the treatment of urgent medical needs, it is evident that substantial numbers of people now use the ER for the treatment of nonurgent problems. In this paper, we report on public opinion about the role of the ER, the accessibility of medical care, and factors that prompt the use of the ER rather than other sources of care. The data result from a community survey of households (N = 521) in the area of Rochester, New York, representative of a population of about 580,000 people. The findings, which relate ER utilization to source of payment, use of other sources of care, demographic variables, and consumer attitudes illustrate the rationality of the patient's use of ER facilities and reflect the patient's view of the ER as a place to obtain medical treatment when other sources are not available.
与急诊室（ER）作为治疗紧急医疗需求的护理来源的传统角色相反，显然现在有相当多的人使用急诊室来治疗非紧急问题。在本文中，我们报告了关于急诊室作用、医疗服务可及性以及促使人们使用急诊室而非其他护理来源的因素的公众意见。数据来自对纽约罗切斯特地区家庭（N = 521）的社区调查，该地区人口约58万。这些将急诊室利用率与支付来源、其他护理来源的使用、人口统计学变量以及消费者态度相关联的研究结果，说明了患者使用急诊室设施的合理性，并反映了患者将急诊室视为在其他来源不可用时获得医疗治疗的场所的观点。
