Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42091842›Full record

ArticleIrish journal of medical science2026

A comparison of patient self-referrals and general practitioner referrals to the emergency department in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic: secondary data analysis of the "Better Data, Better Planning" study.

Muhammad Shan, Rose Galvin, Louise A Barry, Collette Devlin, Gillian Corey, Fergal Cummins, Damien Ryan, Niamh M Cummins

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Article in Irish journal of medical science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Muhammad ShanSchool of Medicine, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, SLÁINTE Research and Education Alliance in General Practice, Primary Healthcare and Public Health, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Rose GalvinSchool of Allied Health, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, Ageing Research Centre, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8171-224X
Louise A BarryAgeing Research Centre, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Collette DevlinSchool of Allied Health, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, Ageing Research Centre, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Gillian CoreySchool of Allied Health, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, Ageing Research Centre, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2198-1018
Fergal CumminsSchool of Medicine, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, SLÁINTE Research and Education Alliance in General Practice, Primary Healthcare and Public Health, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7644-5781
Damien RyanSchool of Medicine, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, SLÁINTE Research and Education Alliance in General Practice, Primary Healthcare and Public Health, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7457-2640
Niamh M CumminsSchool of Medicine, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, SLÁINTE Research and Education Alliance in General Practice, Primary Healthcare and Public Health, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland. niamh.cummins@ul.ie.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7118-9563

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInternationally crowding in Emergency Departments (ED) has become a public health issue. In Ireland, primary care is centred around General Practitioners who can refer patients with acute illnesses or injuries to the ED. Patients can also choose to go directly to the ED if they require emergency care and self-referrals to the ED have been rising in recent years.

aimThe study aims to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who self-referred compared to patients referred by GPs in Irish EDs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

methodsThis was a secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional, multi-centre study describing Irish ED utilisation; the Better Data, Better Planning (BDBP) Study. Descriptive comparisons were made between GP referrals to the ED and self-referrals in relation to; demographics, clinical data, healthcare utilisation, service awareness and other factors, with data being analysed in SPSS.

resultsDemographic differences were minimal however significant differences were observed between GP referrals and self-referrals for; types of clinical presentations (p < 0.05), duration of complaint (p < 0.001), awareness of other services (p < 0.05), need for reassurance (p < 0.001), acquiring a second opinion (p < 0.05) and utilisation of GPs over the year (p < 0.05).

conclusionDemographics were similar between GP referrals and self-referrals to the ED however significant behavioural and clinical differences were observed across groups. Awareness of these factors could be useful for policymakers in service planning for ED crowding generally and also more specifically in the event of a future pandemic.

Indexed as

Alternative care pathwaysCrowdingEmergency departmentGeneral practitionerHealth seeking behaviour

Identifiers

PMID42091842

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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.