Abstract

Emergency departments (EDs) are medical treatment facilities that provide continuous 24/7 services to patients requiring urgent care for acute illnesses, injuries, or traumas. In contrast, primary health care is a fundamental type of health service that offers comprehensive, continuous, and holistic health care to individuals across all age groups, genders, or diseases. The present study prospectively analyzed data from 52.950 patients who presented to the Malatya Training and Research Hospital (MTRH) Emergency Department between October 1, 2022, and October 30, 2022. Among these patients, 24.918 were evaluated in the green triage area. Based on the Emergency Severity Index (ESI) criteria, 15.314 patients (classified under ESI categories 4 and 5) were identified as not-urgent cases that did not require emergency intervention and could have been managed in primary care settings. The financial impact of treating patients within the national social security system vary depending on the facility where care is provided. The average cost per patient in the ED for ESI 4 and 5 patients was 32.737 TL (1.749 USD). However, no direct costs were incurred for treating the same patients in primary care settings, as they were not billed. This finding supports the hypothesis that redirecting non-urgent cases to primary care settings would contribute to a more efficient use of healthcare resources. It would enhance cost-effectiveness and also enable the prioritization of patients requiring truly urgent care, thereby alleviating overcrowding in the ED.

Key words: Primary care, emergency department, healthcare resource utilization