Referral of Patients With Biological Abnormalities to an Emergency Department

Biological testing is an essential part of general medical practice and plays a role in 60% to 70% of diagnoses. 68.5% of prescriptions are written by general practitioners, and one in seven general medical consultations ends with a prescription for biological testing. The study of patient trajectories is a recent emerging topic in the literature, encompassing general concepts. The angle most often taken is medico-economic and focused on specific chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular disease. To our knowledge, there are a number of referrals to emergency departments by general practitioners for patients with biological abnormalities. However, to our knowledge, no study to date has attempted to quantify these specific referrals.

want to establish a register of biological anomaly referrals by general practitioners to emergency departments. This study will enable us to estimate the number of patients whose referral could have been handled differently, allowing us to develop dedicated care pathways, specialized training in outpatient settings, or targeted communications, ultimately leading to better patient referral and reducing inappropriate use of emergency services.