Awareness and utilization of urgent care services among patients attending Al-Wazarat PHCC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2020

Abstract

Background: Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) offer unscheduled appointments with a “treat and release” length of visits not exceeding 60 min. The growth of clinics is dictated by patients’ demand for quality care that is unscheduled, expedited, and ubiquitous, making them accessible and available. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the patient's level of awareness and utilization pattern of UCCs in Wazarat Health Care Center (WHCC) and assess factors associated with them. Aim: This study aims to provide information contributing to the support of decision-makers about the level of awareness among patients on urgent care services and their pattern of use within primary health care. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 288 patients visiting PHC clinics to measure their level of awareness and pattern of utilization using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: A total of 288 patients participated, 55.99% were females, and the highest percentage was in the age group of 18-38 years at 60.07%. Only one quarter, 73 (25.35%) of the patients were aware of the term urgent clinics, from them, more than a half (53.42%) visited such clinics 1–3 times in the three months before the time of study conduction, and the main cause of the visits was the common cold (25.76%). Less than half of the participants reported visiting the primary clinics without booking an appointment in advance at 44.79%. The reason for this was mainly because of having difficulty booking appointments at 54.55%. Awareness level was the highest (28.32%) among the lowest age group (18-38 years) and decreased gradually by increasing the age. A significantly higher percentage of low educational level participants reported visiting primary clinics without booking an appointment in advance at 51.33% vs. 37.68% of the university and above participants. According to patients ‘ income, there was a significant (0.023) difference in the awareness level; the highest was among participants with an income of 6000-12000 SAR at 32.86%. Conclusion: Only one-quarter of the studied patients know about the UCCs. More than half of the patients reported visiting these clinics because of difficulties in booking an appointment at the primary healthcare centers and convenience with the services provided at the UCCs. The common cold was the main reason for visiting the UCCs.

Awareness and Utilisation of Primary Healthcare to Reduce Emergency Department Overcrowding in Saudi Arabia

“…Most participants in this study (69.2%) reported overcrowding in PHCCs, and nearly half of them (50.3%) reported visiting PHCCs without an appointment. Albalahi et al reported similar results: about 45% of patients in their survey said they visited the UCC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, without making an appointment [5]. Patients were drawn to the scheduling flexibility, indicating that comparable scheduling in traditional primary care systems would also be effective in attracting patients.…”

“…To lessen the burden on emergency rooms and shorten their long waiting times, it is advised that any non-life-threatening medical problem requiring immediate attention be taken to a UCC rather than an ED. However, given their longer office hours during the week and on weekends, which the majority of primary care physicians do not offer, it is advised to visit a UCC in addition to primary care services, rather than using a UCC as a substitute for a primary care physician [5].…”

“…ED crowding has been identified as a problem that occurs in most developed countries, and is described as a worldwide public health problem [5]. Some of the increased demand is related to patients with primary care problems who use emergency department settings to access care [6], although a large proportion of those patients (10%-60%) can be managed using lower-acuity care services [7].…”

“…In Saudi Arabia, a study conducted at an urgent care clinic found that most participants were unaware of urgent care and the service that can be delivered [5]. Meanwhile, studies showed a positive impact of PHCC on ED length of stay, patient satisfaction, patient safety, and departure before completion of service [10].…”

Breaking the Emergency Room Cycle: The Impact of Telemedicine on Emergency Department Utilization

“…Participants with lower educational attainment reported a substantially higher percentage (51.33%) of visiting primary clinics without a prior appointment than those with university and higher education backgrounds (37.68%). In terms of income, a noteworthy disparity in awareness levels was observed, with the highest awareness (32.86%) noted among participants with an income range of 6000-12000 SAR (P = 0.023) [ 24 ]. Furthermore, in another study, a comprehensive total of 1303 questionnaires were filled out, with 601 respondents indicating awareness of alternative services.…”