SynthesisThe American journal of managed care2013
Emergency department visits for nonurgent conditions: systematic literature review.
Synthesis in The American journal of managed care, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 286 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
286 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- How do interventions in primary care or in emergency departments impact less urgent patients' emergency care utilization? A systematic review.BMC health services research · 2026Pooled it
- Distances to emergency departments and non-urgent utilization of medical services: a systematic review.Global health action · 2024Pooled it
- Algorithms identifying low-acuity emergency department visits: A review and validation study.Health services research · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Depression and unplanned secondary healthcare use in patients with multimorbidity: A systematic review.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Postimplementation Evaluation in Assisted Living Facilities of an eHealth Medical Device Developed to Predict and Avoid Unplanned Hospitalizations: Pragmatic Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Ophthalmology consultations characteristics in the emergency department at two level-one trauma centers in the United States.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Article
- Clinician validation of the Medicare measure for potentially avoidable hospital visits after chemotherapies.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2026Article
- Disparities in the potentially avoidable use of emergency services by citizenship: a two-year cross-sectional study in Italy.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Bridging the Gap Between Research and Policy: Exploring Political Determinants of Immigrant Health in an Urban County With High Cervical Cancer Disparities.Community health equity research & policy · 2026Article
- Integrating emergency medicine-directed urgent care into a federally qualified health center: case report from a health professional shortage area.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Evaluation of an innovative "Emergency Department Surge" program for the care and treatment of patients with low-acuity conditions.Healthcare (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- Design and Feasibility Assessment of a Compact Emergency Unit in Rural and Remote Areas: A Multicenter Analysis of KTAS-Based Triage Data.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Factors Influencing Non-urgent Emergency Department Visits: A Review of the Causes and Impact.Cureus · 2026Review
- Pain, uncertainty, and lack of clinical support drive emergency department utilization in cirrhosis: A qualitative study.Hepatology communications · 2026Article
- Factors associated with avoidable non-urgent emergency department visits in South Tyrol (Italy): a multicentre cross-sectional study.BMC emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Urgent care utilization patterns in Switzerland: a population-based cross-sectional study.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- [Utilisation of emergency departments: Is the emergency level relevant?]Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2026Article
- Re-evaluating the access imperative in healthcare in the United States.Journal of public health policy · 2026Review
226 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA large proportion of all emergency department (ED) visits in the United States are for nonurgent conditions. Use of the ED for nonurgent conditions may lead to excessive healthcare spending, unnecessary testing and treatment, and weaker patient-primary care provider relationships.
objectivesTo understand the factors influencing an individual's decision to visit an ED for a nonurgent condition.
methodsWe conducted a systematic literature review of the US literature. Multiple databases were searched for US studies published after 1990 that assessed factors associated with nonurgent ED use. Based on those results we developed a conceptual framework.
resultsA total of 26 articles met inclusion criteria. No 2 articles used the same exact definition of nonurgent visits. Across the relevant articles, the average fraction of all ED visits that were judged to be nonurgent (whether prospectively at triage or retrospectively following ED evaluation) was 37% (range 8%-62%). Articles were heterogeneous with respect to study design, population, comparison group, and nonurgent definition. The limited evidence suggests that younger age, convenience of the ED compared with alternatives, referral to the ED by a physician, and negative perceptions about alternatives such as primary care providers all play a role in driving nonurgent ED use.
conclusionsOur structured overview of the literature and conceptual framework can help to inform future research and the development of evidence-based interventions to reduce nonurgent ED use.
Indexed as
Identifiers
23379744PMC4156292What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.