title: Non-urgent patients in an Emergency Medical Service.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Emergency Medical Services (ES) are medical-surgical facilities where extremely ill patients, victims of accidents, intoxications and other urgent clinical situations should be rapidly and efficiently attended. However, a worldwide experience is that a large proportion of patients who require attention in an ES do not qualify as emergencies and they obstruct the possibilities of other patients that should be attended immediately.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the medical records in our ES and to assess whether patients understand what is a true emergency and which is the role of an ES.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients attended in the ES of Haydarpasa Military Teaching Hospital in 2001-2002 were classified according to their diagnosis. A random sample of patients and relatives were surveyed about why they required medical attention in the ES.
  
  
  RESULTS
  77,134 patients (39,327 female, 51%) were attended. The most common illness diagnosed was upper respiratory tract infection (18,423 patients, 23.9%). The true emergency condition rate in patients presenting to our ES was lower (44%) than the non-emergency condition rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Improvements in public education are needed to solve this problem. Also, Primary Care facilities should be improved in order to reduce the demand for medical attention in ES by non-urgent patients.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Service, Istanbul GATA Medical Faculty. mkalemoglu@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kalemoglu
authors.forename: Ozcan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Keskin
authors.forename: Sezai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demirbas
authors.forename: Tahir
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ozisik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D004630:Emergencies / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006300:Health Services Misuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014218:Triage / Q000592:standards