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Article: After-hours general practice clinics are unlikely to reduce low acuity patient attendances to metropolitan Perth emergency departments
- Article from:
- Australian Health Review
- Article date:
- December 13, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Australian Healthcare Association Dec 13, 2004. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Abstract
Objective: To model the effectiveness of after-hours general practice (GP) in reducing metropolitan Perth emergency departments' (ED) low acuity patient (LAP) attendances and costs.
Methods: We estimated LAP attendances by comparison of the product of (A) the difference between self-referred and GP-referred ED discharge rates and (B) total self-referred attendances (LAP attendances = A Ã B). We then compared after-hours ED LAP attendance rates and costs with inner metropolitan "working-week" ED LAP attendance rates and costs, when GP services are maximally available.
Results: Working-week LAP attendances comprised 8.2% (95% CI, 8.0%-8.4%) of inner metropolitan ED attendances. ...