title: [Inventory of attendance at Dutch emergency departments and self-referrals].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To make an inventory of annual attendance at emergency departments (A&E) in the Netherlands.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inventorisation study in all Dutch A & E departments.
  
  
  METHODS
  All A& E departments in the Netherlands that were operational for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in December 2012 were approached (n = 93) and the following data were collected over 2012: the total number of patients, the number of hospital admissions through the A & E department, and the number of self-referrals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data were obtained from 96% emergency departments (n = 89) throughout the Netherlands, including all 8 university medical centres and 28 hospitals of the association of tertiary medical teaching hospitals (STZ). In 2012 a total of 1,989,746 people attended the 89 emergency departments. The average percentage of hospital admissions from an A & E department was 32% nationwide (range: 8-54). The average percentage of self-referrals to the emergency departments was 30% nationwide (range: 3-76).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The number of attendees at A & E, the admission rate through the A & E department and percentage of self-referrals in 2012 showed a range of variation nationwide. The number of people attending A & E has not increased over the last few years and is low in international terms. On average one-third of people attending A & E were admitted. In contrast with prevailing national beliefs,a minority of attendees at A &E departments were self-referrals.
authors.affiliation: Admiraal De Ruyter Ziekenhuis, afd. Spoedeisende Hulp, Goes.
authors.forename: Menno I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Gaakeer
authors.forename: Crispijn L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: van den Brand
authors.forename: Rebekka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Veugelers
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Patka
mesh_terms: D000289:Admitting Department, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D009426:Netherlands; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*