Dataset Information

Appropriateness of cases presenting in the emergency department following ambulance service secondary telephone triage: a retrospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To investigate the appropriateness of cases presenting to the emergency department (ED) following ambulance-based secondary telephone triage.

Design

A pragmatic retrospective cohort analysis of all the planned and unplanned ED presentations within 48 hours of a secondary telephone triage.

Setting

The secondary telephone triage service, called the Referral Service, and the hospitals were located in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia and operated 24 hours a day, servicing 4.25 million people. The Referral Service provides an in-depth secondary triage of cases classified as low acuity when calling the Australian emergency telephone number.