[Adequacy of medical referrals to hospital emergency service].
OBJECTIVE
To assess the correctness and diagnostic concordance in referrals of patients to hospital Casualty Departments (CD); and the possible differences between rural and urban health centres (HC) as well as between general practitioners (GP) and family and community medicine (FCM) specialists.


METHODS
Observational study of a crossover nature.


METHODS
Health area 1 in the province of Badajoz.


METHODS
800 patients, referred to their local hospital Casualty Department.


RESULTS
50.5% of all referrals were considered justified. 15.1% of the patients referred were admitted to hospital. 50.7% of referrals from GPs were found to be correct, against 47% from FCM specialists; and 49% of those referred from rural HCs were correct, as against 45.9% of those referred from urban HCs (no significant differences). Only 54% of referrals had a diagnostic hypothesis, with diagnostic concordance at 50%. There was diagnostic concordance in 28.1% of GP referrals, against 33.3% of FCM specialists; and in 27.5% of those from rural HCs against 26.1% from urban HCs (no significant differences).


CONCLUSIONS
We found no differences in the correctness of referrals or diagnostic concordance of patients seen in the CD of our city's health area, neither between patients referred from rural and urban HCs, nor between patients referred by GPs and FCM specialists.
D003154:Community Medicine; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D003933:Diagnosis; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005194:Family Practice; D006296:Health Services; D010821:Physicians, Family; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012424:Rural Population; D013030:Spain; D014505:Urban Population
Adecuación de las derivaciones médicas a un servicio de urgencias hospitalario.