[Evaluation of the urgent outpatient visits in a research and teaching hospital in Milan].
Through a questionnaire it was evaluated the appropriate access for outpatient activities at not urgent level requested by general practitioners in Lombardia Region in a teaching and research hospital in the centre of Milan. The study took place from November 2003 to May 2004. 852 questionnaires were analyzedfor 16 specialties. Without judging the clinical appropriateness of prescriptions, the urgent level at which the visits were requested was, for the most part of them, not appropriated. But the not appropriated prescriptions were 49% of all the visits. In the case of use of inappropriate urgent level of care, patients were sent back to the general practitioner and in the case of right level of emergency patients were scheduled for a visit after some days. Results of the study will send to general practitioners for a righter use of the hospital level of care.
Castaldi
S
S
Istituto di Igiene e Medicina Preventiva Università degli Studi di Milano. silvana.castaldi@unimi.it
Bombardieri
G
G
Ricciardella
B
B
Auxilia
F
F
D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000592:standards*; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires