When chronic conditions become emergencies - a report from regional Queensland.
Linton R Harriss, Fintan Thompson, Arindam Dey and 3 others
PMID 27596837WHAT IT FOUND
Chronic conditions and injuries were common reasons for emergency presentations, and Indigenous people presented younger, more urgently and more often than their share of the local population.
Key findings
01Chronic conditions were a common reason for emergency presentations, mainly mental, circulatory, digestive and respiratory disorders.
02Injuries were another common reason for presentations, and Indigenous injury presentations were more likely to arrive by ambulance and be admitted.
03Indigenous people presented more often than their share of the local population and were younger, more likely to arrive by ambulance and more likely to need admission.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The analysis used emergency department administrative data, so diagnosis codes may be wrong or incomplete. A single principal diagnosis was recorded, so people with multiple conditions may be counted as acute or injury presentations. Indigenous identification may be under-recorded, so the true burden among Indigenous people may be higher than reported. The definition of chronic conditions was broad and not internationally standard. GP-type presentations were defined by an access indicator, not by whether the emergency visit was clinically inappropriate. The study describes patterns only; it does not test whether any service would reduce presentations. Results are from a single regional hospital and may not apply elsewhere.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not state funding or competing interests; it says data were provided by Queensland Health.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that a minor injuries clinic, telehealth or coordinated care would reduce emergency presentations. The paper describes presentation patterns and does not test those services.