Frequency, demographics, diagnoses and consultation patterns associated with low-acuity attendances in German emergency departments: a retrospective routine healthcare data analysis from the INDEED project

ObjectiveEvidence suggests interventions targeting low-acuity attendances have been hampered by insufficient characterisation of potential target groups. This study aimed to estimate the frequency of low-acuity emergency department (ED) attendances and to provide an overview of their demographic, di...

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Published in:BMJ open 2024-12, Vol.14 (12), p.e084986
Main Authors: Fischer-Rosinský, Antje, Slagman, Anna, Legg, David, Wu, Yves-Noel, King, Ryan, Roll, Stephanie, Keil, Thomas, Möckel, Martin, Baier, Natalie, Below, Maike, Busse, Reinhard, Drepper, Johannes, Dröge, Patrik, Greiner, Felix, Henschke, Cornelia, Kreye, Björn, Lüpkes, Christian, Reinhold, Thomas, Riens, Burgi, Röhrig, Rainer, Rosenbusch, Marie-Luise, Ruhnke, Thomas, Stäps, Felix, Schenk, Liane, Schmieder, Kristin, Schneider, Anna, Schreiber, Daniel, Stillfried, Dominik von, Walcher, Felix, Zimmermann, Grit
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Classification
Data analysis
Datasets
Departments
Documentation
Emergency Departments
Emergency medical care
Emergency Medicine
Females
Health Services
Hospitals
Information systems
Missing data
Original Research
Patient Navigation
Patients
Population
PUBLIC HEALTH
Retrospective Studies
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Summary:ObjectiveEvidence suggests interventions targeting low-acuity attendances have been hampered by insufficient characterisation of potential target groups. This study aimed to estimate the frequency of low-acuity emergency department (ED) attendances and to provide an overview of their demographic, diagnosis and consultation patterns.DesignObservational analyses of routine healthcare data.SettingGerman EDs.ParticipantsAdult patients with statutory health insurance who visited the ED of 16 participating hospitals in 2016.Main outcome measuresFrequency, demographics, diagnoses and consultation patterns of low-acuity and high-acuity attendees.Main resultsOf the 454 747 ED visits, 370 756 visits (50.1% female) were included for analysis. Four participating hospitals had to be excluded due to the lack of data that were necessary for the stepwise approach to define low and high acuity. We identified 101 337 visits as low acuity (27.3%) and 256 876 as high acuity (69.3%), whereas 12 543 (3.4%) could not be classified. The proportion of attendees classified as low acuity decreased with age (highest at 40.6% in the age group
ISSN:2044-6055
2044-6055
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-084986