Addressing the overuse of hospital emergency departments in the Portuguese NHS

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Goiana-da-Silva, Francisco
Publication Date: 2024
Other Authors: Costa, Soraia, Malcata, Filipa, Sá, Juliana, Vasconcelos, Rafael, Cabral, Miguel, Guedes, Raisa, Morais-Vilaça, Inês, Pinheiro-Guedes, Lara, Ferreira, João, Pereira, Nélson, Gaspar-Pais, José, Neves, Judite, Monteiro, Joaquim, Pires, Vera, Paiva, Miguel, Guimarães, Rui, Ashrafian, Hutan, Moreira, Rita, Fonseca, Fátima, Cardoso, Filomena, Alves, Jaime, Darzi, Ara, Araújo, Fernando
Format: Article
Language: eng
Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/178778
Summary: Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2025 Goiana-da-Silva, Costa, Malcata, Sá, Vasconcelos, Cabral, Guedes, Morais-Vilaça, Pinheiro-Guedes, Ferreira, Pereira, Gaspar-Pais, Neves, Monteiro, Pires, Paiva, Guimarães, Ashrafian, Moreira, Fonseca, Cardoso, Alves, Darzi and Araújo.
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spelling Addressing the overuse of hospital emergency departments in the Portuguese NHSa new paradigmcare integrationemergency departmenthealthcare optimizationprimary healthcaretriagePublic Health, Environmental and Occupational HealthSDG 3 - Good Health and Well-beingPublisher Copyright: Copyright © 2025 Goiana-da-Silva, Costa, Malcata, Sá, Vasconcelos, Cabral, Guedes, Morais-Vilaça, Pinheiro-Guedes, Ferreira, Pereira, Gaspar-Pais, Neves, Monteiro, Pires, Paiva, Guimarães, Ashrafian, Moreira, Fonseca, Cardoso, Alves, Darzi and Araújo.The escalating trend of inappropriate visits to Emergency Departments (ED) has led to significant concerns, including resource misallocation, compromised patient care, and an increased burden on healthcare workers. Portugal faces a notable challenge, reporting one of the highest per capita ED visit rates, with an annual average of approximately 6 million ED visits from 2013 to 2023. In response, the “Call First, Save Lives” pilot project was launched by the Portuguese NHS Executive Board, in 2023, at the Local Health Unit (LHU) of Póvoa de Varzim/Vila do Conde. This project leverages the SNS 24 telephone triage system to direct patients to the most appropriate care settings, alleviating pressure on ED, and optimizing healthcare resources. The project introduced several strategic enhancements, including optimizations of the SNS 24 system and inter-institutional initiatives to promote interoperability, hospital follow-ups for chronic conditions, and a “reverse referral” system directing non-urgent ED cases to Primary Care Services (PCS). In PCS, the project expanded acute care consultations and introduced complementary health services. The initiative also emphasized communication to improve health literacy and appropriate utilization of the NHS, supported by legal framework development. Since the beginning of the project, the number of calls received by SNS 24 showed an upward trend, both at the local, 27.6%, and national level, 44.5%, having already expanded to other LHU. Nonetheless, challenges such as the “reverse referral” process complexity, healthcare information systems integration, and procedural standardization need addressing, with future plans including satisfaction surveys and patient triage protocol refinements to improve service delivery and patient adherence.NOVA Medical School|Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (NMS|FCM)RUNGoiana-da-Silva, FranciscoCosta, SoraiaMalcata, FilipaSá, JulianaVasconcelos, RafaelCabral, MiguelGuedes, RaisaMorais-Vilaça, InêsPinheiro-Guedes, LaraFerreira, JoãoPereira, NélsonGaspar-Pais, JoséNeves, JuditeMonteiro, JoaquimPires, VeraPaiva, MiguelGuimarães, RuiAshrafian, HutanMoreira, RitaFonseca, FátimaCardoso, FilomenaAlves, JaimeDarzi, AraAraújo, Fernando2025-02-10T21:19:50Z2024-122024-12-01T00:00:00Zinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10362/178778eng2296-2565PURE: 109184754https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1444951info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessreponame:Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)instname:FCCN, serviços digitais da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologiainstacron:RCAAP2025-03-31T01:55:06Zoai:run.unl.pt:10362/178778Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireinfo@rcaap.ptopendoar:https://opendoar.ac.uk/repository/71602025-05-28T20:39:31.780501Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP) - FCCN, serviços digitais da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologiafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Addressing the overuse of hospital emergency departments in the Portuguese NHS
a new paradigm
title Addressing the overuse of hospital emergency departments in the Portuguese NHS
spellingShingle Addressing the overuse of hospital emergency departments in the Portuguese NHS
Goiana-da-Silva, Francisco
care integration
emergency department
healthcare optimization
primary healthcare
triage
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
title_short Addressing the overuse of hospital emergency departments in the Portuguese NHS
title_full Addressing the overuse of hospital emergency departments in the Portuguese NHS
title_fullStr Addressing the overuse of hospital emergency departments in the Portuguese NHS
title_full_unstemmed Addressing the overuse of hospital emergency departments in the Portuguese NHS
title_sort Addressing the overuse of hospital emergency departments in the Portuguese NHS
author Goiana-da-Silva, Francisco
author_facet Goiana-da-Silva, Francisco
Costa, Soraia
Malcata, Filipa
Sá, Juliana
Vasconcelos, Rafael
Cabral, Miguel
Guedes, Raisa
Morais-Vilaça, Inês
Pinheiro-Guedes, Lara
Ferreira, João
Pereira, Nélson
Gaspar-Pais, José
Neves, Judite
Monteiro, Joaquim
Pires, Vera
Paiva, Miguel
Guimarães, Rui
Ashrafian, Hutan
Moreira, Rita
Fonseca, Fátima
Cardoso, Filomena
Alves, Jaime
Darzi, Ara
Araújo, Fernando
author_role author
author2 Costa, Soraia
Malcata, Filipa
Sá, Juliana
Vasconcelos, Rafael
Cabral, Miguel
Guedes, Raisa
Morais-Vilaça, Inês
Pinheiro-Guedes, Lara
Ferreira, João
Pereira, Nélson
Gaspar-Pais, José
Neves, Judite
Monteiro, Joaquim
Pires, Vera
Paiva, Miguel
Guimarães, Rui
Ashrafian, Hutan
Moreira, Rita
Fonseca, Fátima
Cardoso, Filomena
Alves, Jaime
Darzi, Ara
Araújo, Fernando
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv NOVA Medical School|Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (NMS|FCM)
RUN
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv Goiana-da-Silva, Francisco
Costa, Soraia
Malcata, Filipa
Sá, Juliana
Vasconcelos, Rafael
Cabral, Miguel
Guedes, Raisa
Morais-Vilaça, Inês
Pinheiro-Guedes, Lara
Ferreira, João
Pereira, Nélson
Gaspar-Pais, José
Neves, Judite
Monteiro, Joaquim
Pires, Vera
Paiva, Miguel
Guimarães, Rui
Ashrafian, Hutan
Moreira, Rita
Fonseca, Fátima
Cardoso, Filomena
Alves, Jaime
Darzi, Ara
Araújo, Fernando
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv care integration
emergency department
healthcare optimization
primary healthcare
triage
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
topic care integration
emergency department
healthcare optimization
primary healthcare
triage
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
description Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2025 Goiana-da-Silva, Costa, Malcata, Sá, Vasconcelos, Cabral, Guedes, Morais-Vilaça, Pinheiro-Guedes, Ferreira, Pereira, Gaspar-Pais, Neves, Monteiro, Pires, Paiva, Guimarães, Ashrafian, Moreira, Fonseca, Cardoso, Alves, Darzi and Araújo.
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024-12
2024-12-01T00:00:00Z
2025-02-10T21:19:50Z
dc.type.status.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10362/178778
url http://hdl.handle.net/10362/178778
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv 2296-2565
PURE: 109184754
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1444951
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
instname:FCCN, serviços digitais da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
instacron:RCAAP
instname_str FCCN, serviços digitais da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
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reponame_str Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
collection Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
repository.name.fl_str_mv Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP) - FCCN, serviços digitais da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
repository.mail.fl_str_mv info@rcaap.pt
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