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Variation in emergency department visits for conditions that may be treated in alternative primary care settings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Chris A. Altmayer ,
Sten Ardal ,
Graham L. Woodward  and
Michael J. Schull
Chris A. Altmayer*
Affiliation:
HCM Group, Inc., Mississauga, Ont.
Sten Ardal
Affiliation:
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ont.
Graham L. Woodward
Affiliation:
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ont.
Michael J. Schull
Affiliation:
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ont. Department of Emergency Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ont.; and Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.
*
HCM Group, Inc., 26 Cammay Ave., Dundas ON L9H 6M5

Abstract

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The purpose of this report is to examine Ontario's geographic variation in emergency department (ED) visits for conditions that may be treated in alternative primary care settings. We studied all visits to Ontario EDs in 2002/03 and calculated county-specific age-standardized rates. Overall in Ontario, there were 3174 ED visits per 100 000 population aged 1-74 for conditions that could be treated in alternate primary care settings, but rates varied widely across counties. They were higher in rural counties with rates up to 7-fold higher than the provincial average. Urban counties had lower rates, some were less than one-third of the provincial average. Further research is needed to determine the relationship between ED utilization and primary care capacity.

Keywords

emergency departmentutilizationgeographic variationprimary care
Type
ED Administration • L’administration de la MU
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 7 , Issue 4 , July 2005 , pp. 252 - 256
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2005

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