Ambulance Use Appropriateness: Emergency Medical Service Technicians' and Triage Nurses' Assessments and Patients' Perceptions.

Abstract

Background/Objective: Part of the workload of ambulance service involves patients with low-acuity health events that do not require the specific resources provided by ambulance services or emergency departments (EDs). The problem of inappropriateness is also present in Italy. However, research is limited to the perspective of triage nurses only, excluding patients and emergency medical service (EMS) staff. This study aims to identify the presence of inappropriate ambulance use in the study context by comparing patients' perception of emergency with appropriateness perspectives of both triage nurses and emergency service staff. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 109 patients transported by ambulance was performed between January and March 2020. Questionnaires were distributed to patients, EMS staff, and triage nurses operating in the chief town and hinterland of a region of Italy. Results: Non-penetrating trauma was the most frequent cause for calling an ambulance. Patients referred that activation of the service was necessary, while triage nurses and EMS technicians were in line in believing the non-urgency of the call due to non-emergent health conditions. Conclusions: Although we cannot conclude that citizens use the emergency system inappropriately, the results of this study make us think about the need to implement educational interventions that increase citizens' knowledge of how the service works and the territorial services available.