Health services management research : an official journal of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration
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Health Serv Manage Res · Nov 1989
Measurement for management: report of a pilot project to quantify ambulance misuse for managers of a Fife hospital.
Ambulance services appear to be under increasing pressure to provide a full range of services to the Community. It is important, therefore, that the service is appropriately utilised by patients. Health Service Managers, however, have little readily available information which identifies 'appropriate' utilisation. ⋯ In the clinics surveyed, 91% of the sample of 328 patients did not use an ambulance to travel to clinics; in only two cases was use of the ambulance considered to be 'probably inappropriate'. Misuse of the ambulance service was minimal during this study. Health Service Managers have been provided with some evidence to refute suggestions of substantial, inappropriate use of the ambulance service.