Characteristics of Non-Urgent Cases in the Emergency Department vs Primary Care

Abstract

This research was done in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at Primary healthcare facilities and emergency department with the same catchment region. To outline the patients who use unscheduled services in primary healthcare and those who go to an emergency department for treatment of non-urgent diseases. The results found that there were more women in primary care institutions than in emergency rooms. More than 87% of the patients in both categories had visited a doctor at least once in the last 2 years. Nearly the same number (44% in primary care and 42% in the emergency department) of people in both groups reported routinely taking medication. Patients who went to the emergency room experienced symptoms for a considerably shorter periods of time than patients in primary care. 17.3% (95% CI 14-20) of patients in primary care institutions had only had symptoms for one day or less, as opposed to 42.1% (95% CI 35-59) of emergency department patients. There were no differences in the age distribution among those with symptoms that lasted less than a day. The primary differences between individuals investigated at the various sites appeared to be symptoms, prior hospitalisation, and current impression of symptoms. Between the patients of the primary care clinic and the patients of the ED, there were no appreciable sociodemographic disparities.