A study on the pathway for severe emergency patients visiting emergency departments to establish regionalization of emergency medical services in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongsangnam-do regions

Lee, Myoung-Hwa; Kim, Kil-Hun; Yun, Hyun-Jun; Yeom, Seok-Ran; Ryu, Ji-Ho

J Korean Soc Emerg Med > Volume 34(6); 2023 > Article

Original Article

Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine 2023;34(6): 550-557.

응급의료 지역화 구축을 위한 중증응급환자 이동경로 분석: 부산광역시, 울산광역시, 경상남도 지역을 중심으로

이명화¹

¹국립중앙의료원 중앙응급의료센터
²부산대학교 의과대학 응급의학교실

A study on the pathway for severe emergency patients visiting emergency departments to establish regionalization of emergency medical services in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongsangnam-do regions

, Ji-Ho Ryu^1,2

¹National Emergency Medical Center, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Emergency Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea

Correspondence

Ji-Ho Ryu ,Tel: 055-360-2143, Fax: 055-360-2173, Email: pnuyhem@gmail.com,

Received: August 24, 2023; Revised: October 29, 2023 Accepted: November 8, 2023. Published online: December 31, 2023.

ABSTRACT

Objective:
This study assessed the characteristics of medical utilization by analyzing the pathway of severe emergency patients visiting emergency departments in the three regions.
Method:
The study was conducted based on the National Emergency Department Information System, which collected information from 43 local governments from 2017 to 2019. Severe emergency patients were classified according to the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale level. A map was produced based on the results of connectivity centrality analysis, and groupings were performed using the R program. The relevance index was calculated to confirm medical utilization within and among regions.
Results:
Medical utilization within the region for severe emergency patients was concentrated in major cities. With the opening of local emergency medical agencies in underserved areas of emergency medical services, medical utilization within the region has increased compared to three years ago. Severe emergency patients in the western region of Gyeongsangnam-do mainly visit the emergency department in Jinju city. In contrast, in western county areas, they mainly visit the emergency department in Busan city. In Ulsan city, which belongs to Ulju county and Jung-gu, many patients frequently visit the emergency department in Yangsan city. Patients from Geochang, Changnyeong, Hamyang, and Hapcheon counties in Gyeongnam Province frequently visit the emergency department in Daegu city.
Conclusion:
The intersection and cooperation of health resources within and between regions of the emergency medical system are no longer a task that can be postponed, and regionalization has been proposed as an alternative concept.

Key words: Emergencies; Emergency department; Emergency medical services; Health resources