Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39779350›Full record

Observational studySaudi medical journal2025

Impact of urgent care centers on emergency department visits in Al Madina Al Munawara: A pre-post study.

Ahlam A ALJohani, Jehan M Alhazmi, Osama H Alsaedi, Ahmed F Al-Ahmadi, Noura S Alshammary

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Saudi medical journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Ahlam A ALJohaniFrom the Model of Care (AlJohani, Al-Hazmi, Al-saedi, Al-Ahmadi), and from Healthcare Strategy Administration (Alshammary),Madinah Health Cluster, Al Madina Al Munawara, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1675-0955
Jehan M AlhazmiFrom the Model of Care (AlJohani, Al-Hazmi, Al-saedi, Al-Ahmadi), and from Healthcare Strategy Administration (Alshammary),Madinah Health Cluster, Al Madina Al Munawara, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Osama H AlsaediFrom the Model of Care (AlJohani, Al-Hazmi, Al-saedi, Al-Ahmadi), and from Healthcare Strategy Administration (Alshammary),Madinah Health Cluster, Al Madina Al Munawara, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed F Al-AhmadiFrom the Model of Care (AlJohani, Al-Hazmi, Al-saedi, Al-Ahmadi), and from Healthcare Strategy Administration (Alshammary),Madinah Health Cluster, Al Madina Al Munawara, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Noura S AlshammaryFrom the Model of Care (AlJohani, Al-Hazmi, Al-saedi, Al-Ahmadi), and from Healthcare Strategy Administration (Alshammary),Madinah Health Cluster, Al Madina Al Munawara, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo evaluate the impact of UCCs on reducing non-urgent Emergency Department (ED) visits and improving patient flow, focusing on metrics such as door-to-doctor time, doctor-to-decision time, and overall patient disposition.

methodsThis observational cohort pre-post study analyzed data from 198,050 ED visits to King Fahad Hospital, Al Madina Al Munawara between June 2021 and May 2023 and compared visit patterns before and after UCC implementation.

resultsPost-UCC implementation, the average door-to-doctor time decreased but was not statistically significant. Significant reductions were observed in doctor-to-decision and door-to-disposition times for CTAS 3 patients. However, overall patient flow improvements were not fully realized, highlighting the need for enhanced public awareness and integration of UCCs with EDs.

conclusionThe study shows that while urgent care centers in Al Madina Al Munawara have improved efficiency for some patient categories, they don't fully achieve expected reductions in waiting times and patient flow. Seasonal variations, limited patient awareness, and data constraints affect outcomes.

Indexed as

Ambulatory Care FacilitiesEmergency Service, HospitalAdolescentAdultCohort StudiesEmergency Room VisitsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSaudi ArabiaTime FactorsYoung AdultCanadian Triage and Acuity ScaleEmergency departmenthealthcare efficiencyovercrowdingpatient flowurgent care centers

Identifiers

PMID39779350
PMCPMC11717114

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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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.