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Emergency departments (EDs) are critical to the healthcare system, providing 24-hour care. Increasing patient visits due to higher life expectancy and population growth lead to overcrowding and reduced care quality. Many non-urgent cases in EDs could be treated by general practitioners. Inappropriate ED use results in delayed treatment for true emergencies, higher costs, increased morbidity and mortality, privacy challenges, prolonged stays, decreased staff productivity, more violence, and communication errors. This study recorded patients directed from outpatient clinics to the ED of our hospital between April 1 and May 31, 2023, identifying 37 such cases. Pulmonology, internal medicine, and cardiology were the primary referring clinics. Most referrals were for non-urgent conditions, complicating ED operations and contributing to crowding. Further research is needed to understand and address the causes and effects of outpatient clinic referrals to EDs to reduce workload and improve care quality.
Boğan et al. (Fri,) studied this question.