Comparing emergency medical service and walk-in patients in German emergency departments: a prospective multicentre survey - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #Emergency Department Crowding
- #Emergency Medical Services
- #Healthcare Utilization
- EMS patients represented 27.2% of the 9,719 surveyed, were older, and more frequently used predominantly urban EDs.
- EMS patients presented more often with cardio-respiratory or neurological complaints, while walk-ins mainly had pain-related issues.
- EMS patients had less prior outpatient contact (29.3%) compared to walk-ins, indicating different care-seeking behaviors.
- Injury-related presentations were more common in predominantly urban EDs (26.3% vs. 20.5%), highlighting regional differences in case-mix.
- Awareness of the national on-call service number (116117) was linked to higher odds of attending predominantly urban EDs.
- The study suggests region-sensitive strategies and integration of telephone advice or digital tools could improve emergency care coordination.