What Is Our Plan for Acute Unscheduled Care?
Authors: Thomas E. Cowling, Matthew J. Harris, Azeem Majeed
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2013)

Letters15 October 2013What Is Our Plan for Acute Unscheduled Care?Thomas E. Cowling, MPH, Matthew J. Harris, MBBS, DPhil, and Azeem Majeed, MDThomas E. Cowling, MPHFrom Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.Search for more papers by this author, Matthew J. Harris, MBBS, DPhilFrom Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.Search for more papers by this author, and Azeem Majeed, MDFrom Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-159-8-201310150-00019 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Kocher and Asplin's (1) discussion of acute unscheduled care in the United States resembles the debate on the same topic in England, where the National Health Service is conducting a comprehensive review of unscheduled care services (2). In England, general practice offices staffed by primary care physicians and hospital emergency departments (EDs) form the 2 “silos of acute care delivery” (1). Approximately 9% of patients who try but are unable to obtain a convenient appointment at their general practice office subsequently visit an ED (3). Consequently, recent national policies have attempted to improve access to general practice, ...References1. Kocher KE and Asplin BR. What is our plan for acute unscheduled care? Ann Intern Med. 2013;158:907-9 LinkGoogle Scholar2. National Health Service England. Transforming Urgent and Emergency Care Services in England. 2013. Accessed at www.england.nhs.uk/uec-england/ on 28 June 2013. Google Scholar3. Ipsos MORI. The GP Patient Survey Overall Practice Report (July 2012-March 2013). 2013. Accessed at www.gp-patient.co.uk/results/latest_weighted/practice/ on 28 June 2013. Google Scholar4. Cowling TE, Cecil EV, Soljak MA, Lee JT, Millett C, Majeed A, et al. Access to primary care and visits to emergency departments in England: a cross-sectional, population-based study. PLoS One. 2013;8:66699. [PMID: 23776694] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Gnani S, Ramzan F, Ladbrooke T, Millington H, Islam S, Car J, et al. Evaluation of a general practitioner-led urgent care centre in an urban setting: description of service model and plan of analysis. JRSM Short Rep. 2013;4:2042533313486263. [PMID: 23885294] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Thomas E. Cowling, MPH; Matthew J. Harris, MBBS, DPhil; Azeem Majeed, MDAffiliations: From Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoWhat Is Our Plan for Acute Unscheduled Care? Keith E. Kocher and Brent R. Asplin What Is Our Plan for Acute Unscheduled Care? Michael N. Dohn and Anita L. Dohn Metrics 15 October 2013Volume 159, Issue 8Page: 575-576KeywordsHealth care facilitiesMedical servicesMotivationPatientsPhysiciansPrimary care ePublished: 15 October 2013 Issue Published: 15 October 2013 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2013 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...