title: [Telephone referrals to the emergency department behind a large part of the visits. 4 out of 5 have health care contact prior to visits to the emergency department].
abstract: For unknown reasons, the number of visits to Swedish A&E Departments is on the increase. This study was designed to research whether patients had been in contact with the health service prior to their visit to the Örebro University Hospital A&E Department and if so, which part of the healthcare system. Our study revealed that 80% of patients had been in contact with the healthcare service prior to their visit, that referrals by telephone constituted a large proportion of visits and that the level of medical seriousness differed between the various methods of referral.
authors.affiliation: Örebro Universitet - Läkarutbildningen Örebro, Sweden - Örebro, Sweden.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Helmrot
authors.affiliation: Universitetssjukhuset Örebro - Akutmottagningen Örebro, Sweden Universitetssjukhuset Örebro - Akutmottagningen Örebro, Sweden.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ziegler
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D003376:Counseling; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013548:Sweden; D013689:Telephone; D014218:Triage