Patient characteristics from the 3 EDs
| CHARACTERISTIC | URH (N = 31 395), N (%) | UCC (N = 26 230), N (%) | RCH (N = 13 312), N (%) | TOTAL* (N = 59 803), N (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of ED visits | ||||
| • 1 | 22 078 (70.3) | 18 143 (69.2) | 7303 (54.9) | 33 862 (56.6) |
| • 2–3 | 7657 (24.4) | 6654 (25.4) | 4190 (31.5) | 19 174 (32.1) |
| • ≥ 4 | 1660 (5.3) | 1433 (5.5) | 1819 (13.7) | 6767 (11.3) |
| Sex | ||||
| • Female | 16 045 (51.1) | 13 857 (52.8) | 6845 (51.8) | 30 705 (51.4) |
| • Male | 15 343 (48.9) | 12 369 (47.2) | 6370 (48.2) | 28 994 (48.6) |
| Primary care provider | ||||
| • Yes | 11 501 (36.6) | 9727 (37.1) | 11 901 (89.4) | 27 692 (46.5) |
| • No | 19 894 (63.4) | 16 503 (62.9) | 1411 (10.6) | 31 841 (53.5) |
| Age, y | ||||
| • < 20 | 7138 (22.7) | 7308 (27.9) | 3968 (29.8) | 15 440 (25.8) |
| • 20–49 | 12 738 (40.6) | 12 017 (45.8) | 5086 (38.2) | 24 785 (41.4) |
| • 50–74 | 8052 (25.6) | 5711 (21.8) | 3297 (24.8) | 14 682 (24.6) |
| • ≥ 75 | 3466 (11.0) | 1192 (4.5) | 961 (7.2) | 4894 (8.2) |
ED—emergency department, RCH—rural community hospital, UCC—urgent care centre, URH—urban regional hospital.
↵* The totals from the 3 EDs do not add up to the overall total because 18.6% of the participants attended more than 1 of the EDs.