Baker D W, Stevens C D, Brook R H
Division of General Internal Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance.
Ann Emerg Med. 1995 Mar;25(3):311-6. doi: 10.1016/s0196-0644(95)70285-7.
To determine emergency department patients' perceptions of their illness urgency, their attempts to get care elsewhere, and the proportion of patients referred to the ED.
Cross-sectional design with self-administered questionnaires or interviews.
Public hospital in Los Angeles County, California.
Consecutive ambulatory patients totaling 1,190.
Most patients thought that they required immediate medical attention, even if they said that their condition was not serious, painful, or debilitating. Half of all patients sought care elsewhere before coming to the ED, and 38.2% had seen a doctor. Forty-four percent of all patients said they were referred to the ED by a doctor or a nurse. Referred patients had illness acuteness similar to that of patients who came to the ED on their own.
In addition to their lack of access to other providers, patients' perceived need for immediate care and referrals by health professionals contribute to ED use for nonemergency conditions.
确定急诊科患者对自身疾病紧急程度的看法、他们在其他地方寻求治疗的尝试，以及被转诊至急诊科的患者比例。
采用自填式问卷或访谈的横断面设计。
加利福尼亚州洛杉矶县的公立医院。
共计1190名连续就诊的门诊患者。
大多数患者认为他们需要立即就医，即使他们表示自己的病情并不严重、疼痛或使人衰弱。所有患者中有一半在前往急诊科之前曾在其他地方寻求治疗，38.2%的患者看过医生。所有患者中有44%表示他们是由医生或护士转诊至急诊科的。被转诊患者的疾病急性程度与自行前往急诊科的患者相似。
除了无法获得其他医疗服务提供者的帮助外，患者对立即治疗的感知需求以及卫生专业人员的转诊导致了非紧急情况患者使用急诊科。
