Summary
The integrated management of the emergency area and coordinated primary care
García Bermejo P, Mínguez Platero J, Ruiz López JL, Millán Soria J, Trescoli Serrano C, Tarazona Ginés E
Affiliation of the authors
Emergency Department, Hospital de la Ribera, Valencia, Spain. Emergency Department, Hospital Lluis iz, Valencia, Spain. Medical Area Management, Hospital de la Ribera, Valencia Spain. Hospital Management. Hospital de la Ribera, Valencia, Spain.
DOI
Quote
García Bermejo P, Mínguez Platero J, Ruiz López JL, Millán Soria J, Trescoli Serrano C, Tarazona Ginés E. The integrated management of the emergency area and coordinated primary care. Emergencias. 2008;20:8-14
Summary
Aim: To assess the impact of a unique management model combining the different
emergency areas included in a Department of Health on the activity of an emergency
department (ED) and the results of developing a Center for Integrated Health (CIH)
which acts as a link between emergency attention at continued attention points (CAP)
and the ED.
Methods: Over a 2-year period from April 2003 to 2005 we performed two separate
studies in the Department of Health. The first descriptive study evaluated different elements
necessary to provide emergency assistance in an integrated system. The second
study assessed the usefulness of the CIH (before-after study).
Results: The number of emergency department visits in the area of influence decreased
by 30% in the ED since the Center for Integral Health (CIH) started to work. This percentage
was equivalent to the increase in the number of visits to the CIH (34%). The
emergency assistance curve of growth diminished from 135 000 patients in 2003 to
116 085 patients in 2005.
Conclusions: The unique healthcare management model improves the use of the available
resources in order to satisfy the patient care needs.