Canadian family physician Médecin de famille canadien
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Multicenter Study
Perspectives of ambulatory patients visiting the emergency department during the Christmas and New Year holiday period: Descriptive survey.
To assess the perceptions of ambulatory patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) of symptom acuity and access to care; the proportion of ambulatory patients who contacted their GPs before attending the ED; and patients' knowledge about whether their GPs provide after-hours or walk-in services. ⋯ A large proportion of ambulatory patients would have seen their GP for their medical issue if they thought that they had same-day or next-day access. There is a need for general and emergency physicians to work together on improving access to acute care services.