Emergency Department and Primary Care Use by Refugees Compared to Non-refugee Controls

We examined data from emergency department (ED) and primary care (PC) visits of 694 refugees and 738 non-refugee controls over a 3 years period at a large academic medical center, comparing visit frequ encies, Emergency Severity Index (ESI) scores, diagnoses, and dispositions. Refugees used emergency care services less frequently than the non-refugee controls (1.19 vs. 2.31, p <  0.0001) while there was no difference in their use of primary care services (8.45 vs. 9.07, p = 0.18). Non-English-speaking refugees were more likely to use the ED than English-speaking refugees (mean ED use in study period 1.50 visits vs. 0.73, p <  0.0001). Refugee patients utilized emergency services less often compared to controls. These results differ from previously studied refugee populations. Refugee-specific primary care services in this study population may reduce unnecessary ED use.
Source: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research