Patient characteristics, triage utilisation, level of care, and outcomes in an unselected adult patient population seen by the emergency medical services: a prospective observational study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Crowding in the emergency department (ED) is a safety concern, and pathways to bypass the ED have been introduced to reduce the time to definitive care. Conversely, a number of low-acuity patients in the ED could be assessed by the emergency medical services (EMS) as requiring a lower level of care. The limited access to primary care in Sweden leaves the EMS nurse to either assess the patient as requiring the ED or to stay at the scene. This study aimed to assess patient characteristics and evaluate the initial assessment by and utilisation of the ambulance triage system and the appropriateness of non-transport decisions.

Methods

A prospective observational study including 6712 patients aged ≥16 years was conducted. The patient records with 72 h of follow-up for n

SUBMITTER: Magnusson C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6993445 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature