[The appropriateness of emergency referrals sent from primary care to a general hospital].

OBJECTIVE

Study of the degree of completeness of slips sent to forward patients from primary medical care to emergency units of the corresponding general hospital.

DESIGN

This is a statistical descriptive and inferential study. SITE. The study was carried out in the general hospital allocated to Zaragoza Health Area III.

PATIENTS

Included in the study are all patients sent by primary medical care for evaluation by the urgency unit in the internal medicine section.

MAIN MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

415 urgent treatment slips were analysed, evaluating the completion rate and the degree of correctness in relation to their source as either rural or urban. With regards the degree of completion (clinical history, antecedents, examination) and correct functioning at the visit to family doctor stage, there are highly significant differences between those sent from all other such centres (p less than 0.01). Only in the case of 8 slips were physical examinations completed for the presenting ailment: 7 came from urban health centres and 1 from rural health centres. Diagnostic impressions and observations were absent from 62.2% of the slips.

CONCLUSIONS

While overall there is no difference between those sent from rural and urban centres, there were differences when those sent from urban health centres were compared with those sent by all other health centres.