"I do not know the advantages of having a general practitioner" - a qualitative study exploring the views of low-acuity emergency patients without a regular general practitioner toward primary care.

Background: Emergency departments (ED) worldwide have to cope with rising patient numbers. Low-acuity consulters who could receive a more suitable treatment in primary care (PC) increase caseloads, and lack of PC attachment has been discussed as a determinant. This qualitative study explores factors that contribute to non-utilization of general practitioner (GP) care among patients with no current attachment to a GP.

[Redirection of patients from the emergency department to ambulatory care: a feasibility study].

Background: § 120 para. 3b SGB V mandates the Federal Joint Committee to define guidelines for the initial assessment of self-referred walk-in patients as well as for the redirection of patients who can be treated by office-based physicians. A corresponding streaming and redirection process was tested in a feasibility study at the RoMed Clinic Rosenheim.

Exploring the views of low-acuity emergency department consulters on an educational intervention and general practitioner appointment service: a qualitative study in Berlin, Germany.

Objectives: Low-acuity patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) frequently have unmet ambulatory care needs. This qualitative study explores the patients' views of an intervention aimed at education about care options and promoting primary care (PC) attachment.

Design: Qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with a subsample of participants of an interventional pilot study, based on a semi-structured interview guide.

Redirecting emergency medical services patients with unmet primary care needs: the perspective of paramedics on feasibility and acceptance of an alternative care path in a qualitative investigation from Berlin, Germany.

Background: Against the backdrop of emergency department (ED) overcrowding, patients' potential redirection to outpatient care structures is a subject of current political debate in Germany. It was suggested in this context that suitable lower-urgency cases could be transported directly to primary care practices by emergency medical services (EMS), thus bypassing the ED. However, practicality is discussed controversially.

Emergency Departments as Care Providers for Patients with Cardiac Ambulatory Care Sensitive and Mental Health Conditions: Qualitative Interview and Focus Group Study with Patients and Physicians.

Mental health conditions are frequent among patients with somatic illnesses, such as cardiac diseases. They often remain undiagnosed and are related to increased utilization of outpatient services, including emergency department care. The objective of this qualitative study was to investigate the significance of the emergency department in the patients' course of treatment and from the physicians' perspective.

Emergency department consultations for respiratory symptoms revisited: exploratory investigation of longitudinal trends in patients' perspective on care, health care utilization, and general and mental health, from a multicenter study in Berlin, Germany.

Background: Only few studies of emergency department (ED) consulters include a longitudinal investigation. The EMACROSS study had surveyed 472 respiratory patients in eight inner-city EDs in Berlin in 2017/2018 for demographic, medical and consultation-related characteristics. This paper presents the results of a follow-up survey at a median of 95 days post-discharge.

[Am I an emergency patient? Emergency perception and decision-making competence in acute situations: a qualitative study of ED patients].

Background: The number of patients visiting emergency departments (ED) due to acute but less than urgent treatment needs is increasing. A deeper understanding of emergency perception and decision-making competencies of patients is fundamentally important for developing strategies to reduce ED utilization. The aim of this study was to assess ED patients' subjective understanding of an emergency in general as well as relating to their own specific consultation.

Diverting less urgent utilizers of emergency medical services to primary care: is it feasible? Patient and morbidity characteristics from a cross-sectional multicenter study of self-referring respiratory emergency department consulters.

Objective: Diversion of less urgent emergency medical services (EMS) callers to alternative primary care (PC) is much debated. Using data from the EMACROSS survey of respiratory ED patients, we aimed to characterize self-referred EMS patients, compare these with non-EMS patients, and assess scope and acceptability of a potential redirection to alternative PC.

Results: Of n = 292 self-referred patients, n = 99 were transported by EMS.

Self-referred walk-in patients in the emergency department - who and why? Consultation determinants in a multicenter study of respiratory patients in Berlin, Germany.

Background: Emergency department (ED) consultations are on the rise, and frequently consultations by non-urgent patients have been held accountable. Self-referred walk-in (SRW) consulters supposedly represent a predominantly less urgent patient population. The EMACROSS study aimed to explore consultation determinants and motives in SRW patients with respiratory symptoms.

What role does the GP play for emergency department utilizers? A qualitative exploration of respiratory patients' perspectives in Berlin, Germany.

Background: While motives for emergency department (ED) self-referrals have been investigated in a number of studies, the relevance of general practitioner (GP) care for these patients has not been comprehensively evaluated. Respiratory symptoms constitute an important utilization trigger in both EDs and in primary care. In this qualitative study, we aimed to explore the role of GP care for patients visiting EDs as outpatients for respiratory complaints and the relevance of the relationship between patient and GP in the decision making process leading up to an ED visit.

How to decide adequately? Qualitative study of GPs' view on decision-making in self-referred and physician-referred emergency department consultations in Berlin, Germany.

Objectives: Patients with acute symptoms present not only to general practitioners (GPs), but also frequently to emergency departments (EDs). Patients' decision processes leading up to an ED self-referral are complex and supposed to result from a multitude of determinants. While they are key providers in primary care, little is known about GPs' perception of such patients.