Resumen

DIAZ NOVAS, José  y  GUINART ZAYAS, Nancy. Emergencies in primary health care: Utilization of the service. Rev Cubana Med Gen Integr [online]. 2007, vol.23, n.4. ISSN 0864-2125.

An observational, descriptive and retrospective study on the use of the emergency services at “Lawton” Teaching Polyclinic during 2005 was conducted. A high utilization of these services, almost half of the times unjustified, was observed. Children under 1, those aged 1-4, and the elderly  received most of the emergency care. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays were in that order the days of the week with the highest number of emergency consultations. Most of the patients received medical attention from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Among the patients that visited the Emergency Department and that were surveyed, it was found that they had been preferably attended at the emergency services the previous month. Further research is necessary to analyze more deeply the demand of emergency care, its causes and the possible solutions of the deviations detected.

Palabras clave : Emergency care; utilization of emergency services; primary health care.

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