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Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols

Date Submitted: Oct 27, 2023
Date Accepted: Feb 19, 2024

The final, peer-reviewed published version of this preprint can be found here:

The Use of Medical Services for Low-Acuity Emergency Cases in Germany: Protocol for a Multicenter Observational Pilot Study

Nau LM, Laux G Sr, Altiner A, Szecsenyi J, PD Dr. med.Leutgeb R

The Use of Medical Services for Low-Acuity Emergency Cases in Germany: Protocol for a Multicenter Observational Pilot Study

JMIR Res Protoc 2024;13:e54002

DOI: 10.2196/54002

PMID: 38598281

PMCID: 11043931

Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.

Critical use of the emergency medical service in low-acuity cases: a multicenter observational study in rural and urban areas in a federal state of Germany - Study protocol

  • Lara Maria Nau; 
  • Gunter Laux Sr; 
  • Attila Altiner; 
  • Joachim Szecsenyi; 
  • Rüdiger PD Dr. med.Leutgeb

ABSTRACT

Background:

The increasing number of requests for help of acute patients and their management is a major problem leading to overstressing of the caregivers not only in Germany, but worldwide. As a result, the rescue service in Germany has also been showing an increasing trend in the number of ambulance rides for years, whilst a relevant proportion of these operations represents low-acuity calls (LACs).

Objective:

The basic objective of this study is the quantitative analysis of the indication for alternative care options and how to handle these care options in non-acute, not life-threatening health conditions for example minor injuries or minor infectious diseases. The identification of those LACs is vital in order to avoid the inadequate use of health care resources in emergency medicine.

Methods:

An exploratory non-interventional cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach will be conducted. The study is multicentric with 21 ambulances on 12 different locations. The data for the primary data basis is recorded on a study-specific basis with the help of a questionnaire, newly developed for this study, for rescue personnel. Additionally, secondary data from the responsible control center will be linked and processed in firstly descriptive analysis. These descriptive analyses form the basis for variance analysis methods.

Results:

Data collection started as projected on 18 September 2023 and is ongoing. As of mid of October, around 380 data sets of operations were gathered.

Conclusions:

In addition to previous work, which includes retrospective qualitative studies and questionnaire surveys in hospitals, with paramedics and with patients, this study focuses on identifying possibly apt alternative ways of treatment like out-of-hours care service on site instead of afterwards. It also intends to cover the question which factors are relevant and statistically significantly connected to the misuse of ambulances. Clinical Trial: The study has been registered with the German Register for Clinical Studies (Deutsches Register für Klinische Studien, DRKS) as trial number DRKS00032510 before recruiting and data collection. It can also be found on the portal of the WHO (https://trialsearch.who.int).


 Citation

Please cite as:

Nau LM, Laux G Sr, Altiner A, Szecsenyi J, PD Dr. med.Leutgeb R

The Use of Medical Services for Low-Acuity Emergency Cases in Germany: Protocol for a Multicenter Observational Pilot Study

JMIR Res Protoc 2024;13:e54002

DOI: 10.2196/54002

PMID: 38598281

PMCID: 11043931

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