title: The referral of patients from freestanding emergency centers to a hospital emergency department.
abstract: This retrospective study is a review of patients referred from a network of eight freestanding emergency centers FECs to a hospital emergency department during January and February 1984. During that time, 17,387 patients were seen at the FECs. Sixty-three (0.36%) of these patients were referred to the base hospital, of which 28 (44%) were admitted and six (9.5%) were admitted to a critical care unit. Four of the six critical care admissions arrived by ambulance. One was unstable and required cardioversion in the ED. Of the patients discharged from the hospital 70% were satisfied with FEC and 97% with hospital treatment. Of admitted patients, 89% were satisfied with FEC and 100% were satisfied with hospital treatment. For a similar illness in the future, 23% of all patients would return to a FEC, 28% would go to a private practitioner, and 48% would go directly to a hospital.
mesh_terms: D000552:Ambulances; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D011331:Private Practice; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014187:Transportation of Patients