Background: The impact of outpatient clinics on emergency health care has not yet been analyzed satisfactorily. This study aims to determine the importance of the Jena University Outpatient ENT Clinic in emergency health care.
Methods: In a retrospective study, all 1,884 emergency cases from 2008 were gathered and analyzed.
Results: The patients' average age was 38.2 years; half of them were female. A total of 1,379 patients (73%) went to the outpatient clinic without having previously consulted another doctor, and more than half of the emergency treatments took place on weekends or public holidays. Seven hundred nineteen patients (38%) had medical diagnoses indicating the need for emergency treatment.
Discussion: The University of Jena's Emergency Department ENT Clinic provides much more than just emergency health care. As only 38% of the cases analyzed were emergencies, the ENT Clinic complements outpatient health care outside business hours.