ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness of use of the Emergency Departments (EDs) and to identify the reasons for inappropriate use. A study with 805 patients visiting the EDs of four large-scale public hospitals in Athens was conducted using the Hospital Urgencies Appropriateness Protocol (HUAP). 38.1% of the visits (n=307) were estimated as inappropriate, due to several reasons such as increased confidence in hospital rather than primary care services/patients' expectation for improved care in EDs (46.6%), convenience/proximity to patient's residence (44.6%) etc. Ageing, Greek nationality and insurance coverage were related with the appropriate use of EDs (p<0.001, p=0.04 and p=0.005, respectively). The identified distortions must be tackled so as to mitigate ED crowding, waste of resources and increase quality and responsiveness of care.
