title: Out of hours care: a profile analysis of patients attending the emergency department and the general practitioner on call.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Overuse of emergency departments (ED) is of concern in Western society and it is often referred to as 'inappropriate' use. This phenomenon may compromise efficient use of health care personnel, infrastructure and financial resources of the ED. To redirect patients, an extensive knowledge of the experiences and attitudes of patients and their choice behaviour is necessary. The aim of this study is to quantify the patients and socio-economical determinants for choosing the general practitioner (GP) on call or the ED.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data collection was conducted simultaneously in 4 large cities in Belgium. All patients who visited EDs or used the services of the GP on call during two weekends in January 2005 were enrolled in the study in a prospective manner. We used semi-structured questionnaires to interview patients from both services.
  
  
  RESULTS
  1611 patient contacts were suitable for further analysis. 640 patients visited the GP and 971 went to the ED. Determinants that associated with the choice of the ED are: being male, having visited the ED during the past 12 months at least once, speaking another language than Dutch or French, being of African (sub-Saharan as well as North African) nationality and no medical insurance. We also found that young men are more likely to seek help at the ED for minor trauma, compared to women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients tend to seek help at the service they are acquainted with. Two populations that distinctively seek help at the ED for minor medical problems are people of foreign origin and men suffering minor trauma. Aiming at a redirection of patients, special attention should go to these patients. Informing them about the health services' specific tasks and the needlessness of technical examinations for minor trauma, might be a useful intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Primary and Interdisciplinary Care of the University of Antwerp, Belgium, General Practice, Universiteitsplein 1, Geb R, 3de verd,, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium. hilde.philips@ua.ac.be
authors.forename: Hilde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Philips
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Remmen
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Paepe
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Buylaert
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Royen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D039602:After-Hours Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001530:Belgium; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010358:Patient Participation; D057240:Patient Preference; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy