Implementation of a hospital-integrated general practice : a successful way to reduce the burden of inappropriate emergency-department use

Chmiel, Corinne; Wang, Mathyas; Sidler, Patrick; Eichler, Klaus; Rosemann, Thomas; Senn, Oliver

doi:10.21256/zhaw-3137

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-3137

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	Implementation of a hospital-integrated general practice : a successful way to reduce the burden of inappropriate emergency-department use
Authors:	Chmiel, Corinne Wang, Mathyas Sidler, Patrick Eichler, Klaus Rosemann, Thomas Senn, Oliver
et. al:	No
DOI:	10.21256/zhaw-3137 10.4414/smw.2016.14284
Published in:	Swiss Medical Weekly
Volume(Issue):	146
Issue:	w14284
Page(s):	1
Pages to:	9
Issue Date:	10-Mar-2016
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	EMH Schweizerischer Ärzteverlag
ISSN:	1424-7860 1424-3997
Language:	English
Subjects:	Access to care; Care management; Emergency medicine; Resource allocation; Primary care
Subject (DDC):	362.11: Hospitals and related institutions
Abstract:	Principles: Emergency departments (Eds) are over-crowded by lower acuity patients, which might be more efficiently treated by general practitioners (Gps). This study evaluated the impact of triaging lower acuity patients to a new hospital-integrated general practice (HGP) on ED case-load and the reasons for choosing the ED/HGP. Methods and Results: Patients were consecutively assessed according to the emergency severity index (ESI) to triage lower acuity patients to the HGP. Consultation numbers at the emergency centre (Ed and HGP) increased by 43% between 2007 (n=16974) and 2011 (n=24331) (implementation of HGP in 2009). Although self-referrals increased significantly at the emergency centre from 54% to 63% (p<0.001), the proportion of self-referrals at the ED was significantly reduced to 48% (p=0.007). The HGP was able to reduce the burden of increasing total consultations by 36%; 4.6% were referred back to the ED after triaging to the HGP. Overall, 95% of HGP patients were self-referred, Swiss nationals (65%) and with a personal GP (82%) they attended regularly (69%). The most common reason for presenting at the emergency centre was not being able to reach the GP(60%). Diagnoses were injury- (29%) and infection- (23%) related problems affecting the musculoskeletal (27%) system and skin (21%). Conclusion: The HGP succeeded in reducing the burden of inappropriate ED use: the majority of low acuity self-referred patients were conclusively treated at the HGP. The HGP does not represent competition to the GP out-of-hours care service, since the main reason for presenting at the hospital was not lacking a relationship but the Gps’in-accessibility.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/17751
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	CC BY-NC 4.0: Attribution - Non commercial 4.0 International
Departement:	School of Management and Law
Organisational Unit:	Winterthur Institute of Health Economics (WIG)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen School of Management and Law

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Chmiel, C., Wang, M., Sidler, P., Eichler, K., Rosemann, T., & Senn, O. (2016). Implementation of a hospital-integrated general practice : a successful way to reduce the burden of inappropriate emergency-department use. Swiss Medical Weekly, 146(w14284), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-3137

Chmiel, C. et al. (2016) ‘Implementation of a hospital-integrated general practice : a successful way to reduce the burden of inappropriate emergency-department use’, Swiss Medical Weekly, 146(w14284), pp. 1–9. Available at: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-3137.

C. Chmiel, M. Wang, P. Sidler, K. Eichler, T. Rosemann, and O. Senn, “Implementation of a hospital-integrated general practice : a successful way to reduce the burden of inappropriate emergency-department use,” Swiss Medical Weekly, vol. 146, no. w14284, pp. 1–9, Mar. 2016, doi: 10.21256/zhaw-3137.

CHMIEL, Corinne, Mathyas WANG, Patrick SIDLER, Klaus EICHLER, Thomas ROSEMANN und Oliver SENN, 2016. Implementation of a hospital-integrated general practice : a successful way to reduce the burden of inappropriate emergency-department use. Swiss Medical Weekly. 10 März 2016. Bd. 146, Nr. w14284, S. 1–9. DOI 10.21256/zhaw-3137

Chmiel, Corinne, Mathyas Wang, Patrick Sidler, Klaus Eichler, Thomas Rosemann, and Oliver Senn. 2016. “Implementation of a Hospital-Integrated General Practice : A Successful Way to Reduce the Burden of Inappropriate Emergency-Department Use.” Swiss Medical Weekly 146 (w14284): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-3137.

Chmiel, Corinne, et al. “Implementation of a Hospital-Integrated General Practice : A Successful Way to Reduce the Burden of Inappropriate Emergency-Department Use.” Swiss Medical Weekly, vol. 146, no. w14284, Mar. 2016, pp. 1–9, https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-3137.