Factors associated with demand for emergency medical services by people with hypertension and diabetes.
Patrícia Chatalov Ferreira, Sonia Silva Marcon, Elen Ferraz Teston and 5 others
PMID 37162044WHAT IT FOUND
Most people visiting emergency services repeatedly for high blood pressure or diabetes had no record of these conditions in primary care.
Men, younger adults, and those with low education were significantly more likely to be missing from these records.
Key findings
01More than half of the people who sought emergency services twice or more for acute events related to hypertension or diabetes did not have these conditions registered in their primary care electronic medical record.
02Men, adults aged 18 to 59, and people with lower education levels were significantly more likely to not have their conditions registered in primary care compared to women, older adults, and those with higher education.
03People who did not receive specialized care follow-up were more likely to lack a primary care registration for their chronic conditions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used secondary data, which may contain missing, outdated, or incomplete information. It only included people who visited the emergency room at least twice, so it does not represent all patients with these conditions. One emergency unit only had electronic records from 2019 onwards, which may have affected the completeness of the sample. The study did not assess why patients were not registered, such as whether they were undiagnosed or simply not recorded. It did not include people who use private health services or those who do not seek care at all.
Declared interests
The study was funded by CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel - Brazil) through a master's scholarship. No other conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the lack of registration in primary care is the sole cause of emergency visits. The study shows an association, but it does not prove that registering a patient would have prevented the acute event, as other factors like medication adherence and disease progression also play a role.