NON-URGENT VISITS TO EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT AND COMPARISON OF URGENCY EVALUATION BETWEEN PATIENTS AND DOCTORS

An emergency medical condition exists if the patient has acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in placing the patient's health in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily fu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pakistan Armed Forces medical journal 2017-10 (5), p.726-730
Main Authors: Iftikhar, Nadia, Nisar, Shazia, Ghumman, Faisal Iftikhar Ahmad, Iqbal, Mishal, Malik, Rahat, Shakeel, Ammala, Adnan, Muhammad, Ghani, Muhammad Usman, Zafar, Muhammad Arsalan, Kayani, Ali Abbas, Irshad, Imran, Sajid, Ayesha
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age groups
Comparative analysis
Departments
Emergency medical care
Emergency services
Hospital emergency services
Hospital patients
Hospitals
Medical research
Military personnel
Patients
Pediatrics
Physicians
Social sciences
Work hours
Working hours
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Summary:An emergency medical condition exists if the patient has acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in placing the patient's health in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part6. DISCUSSION The American College of Emergency Physicians has defined emergency services as health care services provided to evaluate and treat medical conditions of recent onset and severity that would lead a prudent layperson, possessing an average knowledge of medicine and health, to believe that urgent and or unscheduled medical care is required6. In addition to urgent medical conditions, patients may have other reasons for choosing emergency services such as convenience, access to transport, availability of accompanying person (as women in our country are uncomfortable travelling alone without a male companion), mental health issues, prescription drug abuse, psychological problems, depression12, locally shared custom13 and patients avoiding to take time off from work or school. [...]in our study, rate of non-urgent visits to the emergency department is one of the highest in the world.
ISSN:0030-9648
2411-8842