RESUMO
To compare the characteristics of patients seeking care in freestanding emergency centers with the patients seen by internists, we studied the adult populations of two freestanding emergency centers (FECs) through an audit of medical records for 20 days randomly selected throughout 1983. We recorded the age, sex, time of visit, whether the patient claimed a family physician, diagnosis, laboratory tests, and charges, and compared the data with those from earlier national studies of internists' practices. Of the 1,061 FEC visits audited, 78% were by patients 20 to 44 years of age. Only 3.2% of FEC patients were 65 or older, an age group that accounted for more than a third (35.2%) of the patients seen by a national sample of internists. More than half (55.3%) of the FEC patients claimed family physicians. Visits to FECs were most frequently trauma-related (34.1%) or for medical or special examinations (17.1%). Laboratory tests were ordered in 35.5% of FEC encounters. Fees for 62.1% of FEC visits were less than $41.
Assuntos
Serviços Médicos de Emergência/estatística & dados numéricos , Medicina Interna , Adulto , Fatores Etários , Idoso , Serviços Médicos de Emergência/economia , Serviços Médicos de Emergência/organização & administração , Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência , Honorários e Preços , Humanos , Masculino , Auditoria Médica , Visita a Consultório Médico , Encaminhamento e Consulta , Texas , Ferimentos e Lesões/terapiaRESUMO
To determine whether the patients of free-standing emergency centers are similar to the patients seen by family physicians, the age, sex, time of visit, diagnoses, laboratory work, and charges for 1,062 patients from two free-standing emergency centers were compared with available data on the patients seen by a national sample of family physicians. Patients from the emergency centers were predominantly in the 20- to 44-year age range (73.8 percent), were male (56.5 percent), and sought trauma-related treatment or medical examinations (51.7 percent). Laboratory tests were ordered for 30.2 percent of these patients. In contrast, family practice patients were more evenly distributed by age, were more often female (57.6 percent), and had a wide variety of diagnoses. Laboratory tests were ordered for 40.3 percent of the patients. The median free-standing emergency center charge was approximately $10 higher than initial visit fees to family physicians in the same area.
