The ED is an efficient place to treat ED patients

The purpose of this study was to determine what percentage of ED patients would be more efficiently treated in an offsite clinic. A stratified sample consisting of 650 ED visits were reviewed. Patient care was classified as more efficiently delivered in ED or clinic using prospectively developed criteria. Five hundred fifty-three (85%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 82–88%) visits met the definition of efficient ED utilization. One (0.15%; 95% CI, 0.01–0.99%) met the criteria for efficient clinic utilization. The other 96 (15%; 95% CI, 12–18%) failed to meet the definition of efficient for either site; 92 of these failed 2 or more clinic criteria. Only 25 (3.9%; 95% CI, 2.6–5.7%) were seen for nonacute problems. Few ED patients would be more efficiently seen in a clinic.