Characteristics of patients who visited the emergency department (ED) within 72 hours after being seen by virtual urgent care without an ED referral compared with patients discharged home after an in-person ED visit
| Characteristic | No. (%) of patients seen by VUC n = 1948 | No. (%) of patients with in-person ED visit n = 988 | Δ, % (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrival by ambulance | 112 (5.6) | 62 (6.3) | −0.7 (−2.5 to 1.2) |
| Acuity score | |||
| Resuscitation (CTAS 1) | 12 (0.6) | 6–10* | NA |
| Emergent (CTAS 2) | 346 (17.8) | 131 (13.3) | 4.5 (1.7 to 7.2) |
| Urgent (CTAS 3) | 1113 (57.1) | 534 (54.0) | 3.1 (−0.7 to 6.9) |
| Less urgent (CTAS 4) | 367 (18.8) | 231 (23.4) | −4.6 (−7.8 to −1.4) |
| Nonurgent (CTAS 5) | 110 (5.6) | 85 (8.6) | −3.0 (−5.1 to −1.0) |
| Unknown | 0 (0.0) | 1–5* | NA |
| Top 5 CEDIS complaints | |||
| Other (not top 5) | 1383 (71.0) | 625 (63.3) | 7.7 (4.1 to 11.4) |
| Fever | 242 (12.4) | 63 (6.4) | 6.0 (3.8 to 8.1) |
| Abdominal pain | 201 (10.3) | 56 (5.7) | 4.6 (2.6 to 6.6) |
| Imaging tests | 38 (1.9) | 116 (11.7) | −9.8 (−12.0 to −7.8) |
| Abnormal laboratory values | 22 (1.1) | 88 (8.9) | −7.8 (−9.7 to −6.1) |
| Rash | 62 (3.2) | 40 (4.0) | −0.8 (−2.4 to 0.5) |
| Procedures | |||
| No procedures | 77 (3.9) | 60 (6.1) | −2.2 (−4.0 to −0.5) |
| Diagnostic only | 29 (1.5) | 21 (2.1) | −0.6 (−1.8 to 0.3) |
| Laboratory only | 0 (0.0) | 1–5* | NA |
| Laboratory, therapeutic and diagnostic | 26 (1.3) | 11 (1.1) | 0.2 (−0.7 to 1.0) |
| Therapeutic only | 970 (49.8) | 507 (51.3) | −1.5 (−5.3 to 2.3) |
| Therapeutic and diagnostic | 846 (43.4) | 389 (39.4) | 4.0 (0.3 to 7.8) |
| Top 5 discharge diagnosis | |||
| Other (not top 5) | 1598 (82.0) | 858 (86.8) | −4.8 (−7.5 to 2.0) |
| Other and unspecified abdominal pain | 75 (3.8) | 47 (4.8) | −1.0 (−2.6 to 0.6) |
| Fever, unspecified | 72 (3.7) | 29 (2.9) | 0.8 (−0.7 to 2.1) |
| COVID-19 | 82 (4.2) | 15 (1.5) | 2.7 (1.4 to 3.8) |
| Urinary tract infection, site not specified | 61 (3.1) | 23 (2.2) | 0.9 (−0.5 to 2.0) |
| Viral infection, unspecified | 60 (3.1) | 16 (1.6) | 1.5 (0.3 to 2.5) |
| Discharge disposition | |||
| Missing | 16 (0.8) | 9 (0.9) | −0.1 (−0.9 to 0.6) |
| Admitted | 135 (6.9) | 119 (12.0) | −5.1 (−7.9 to −2.9) |
| Discharged | 1786 (91.7) | 854 (86.4) | 5.3 (2.9 to 7.8) |
| Transferred | 11 (0.6) | 6 (0.6) | 0.0 (−0.8 to 0.7) |
Note: CI = confidence interval, CEDIS = Canadian Emergency Department Information System, CTAS = Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale, NA = not applicable, VUC = virtual urgent care.
* Data in cells are suppressed to protect patient privacy.