title: Emergency and primary care at a Melbourne hospital: reasons for attendance and satisfaction.
abstract: The reasons for attendance, presenting health problems, functional status, pain and severity, and satisfaction with emergency and primary care were examined using routinely collected data and an interviewer-assisted survey of patients. Patients attended, mostly after hours, because they believed their health problems required hospital-based management. GPs referred for admission and further evaluation. Ethnicity, employment status, gender and age contributed to differences in access, morbidity and pain scores. Pain scores, functional status and English language skills influenced satisfaction. Culturally sensitive hospital- and community-based clinicians are important to promote better services, after-hours care, referral and triage. It is essential to have appropriate policy and legislation, adequate infrastructure and resources, good communication strategies, telecommunication technology, explicit evidence-based protocols for shared care, referral and triage and ongoing training and support for clinicians and consumers.
authors.affiliation: University of Melbourne.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Liaw
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bryce
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006744:Hospital Bed Capacity, 100 to 299; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014600:Utilization Review; D014739:Victoria