Open AccessWho uses the emergency room services?
Author(s) -
A. M. Abdallat,
Izzat Alsmadi,
Mohammed D. Abbadi
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
eastern mediterranean health journal/eastern mediterranean health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1687-1634
pISSN - 1020-3397
DOI - 10.26719/2000.6.5-6.1126
Subject(s) - medicine , medical emergency , emergency medicine , emergency medical services , emergency rooms , pediatrics
This study aimed to clarify whether patients attending an emergency room generally had non-urgent problems. A study was made of 2841 patients attending the emergency room of Prince Zaid Ben Al-Hussein military hospital [south Jordan]over a 1-month period using data from the registration book. Patients were classified into four classes of urgency [life-threatening, urgent, non-urgent, trivial]. The attendees were mainly children [26.4%]. The admission rate was 3.2% and non-urgent conditions accounted for 91% of cases. Much of the use of emergency services was found to be inappropriate, a situation which should be changed.