Abstract
Purpose: In the “Pediatric Medical Institution Referral Project (Pediatric Orange Project) that was judged to require early consultation” at the Tokyo emergency medical telephone consultation center (#7119), we categorized the injuries and illnesses of patients who had difficulty in guiding the consultation destination, and considered strategies for building a smooth medical consultation system.
Method: From January to March 2019, a questionnaire survey was conducted at 317 medical institutions in all emergency hospitals in Tokyo regarding availability of medical care by age group and by the clinical specialty of corresponding physician to virtual walk-in cases.
Results: The injuries and illnesses of the virtual cases were foreign body/liquid accidental ingestion, suspected pulled elbow, head injury, facial injury, vulvar injury, and fever accompanied by ear pain. The average demand-capable facility ratio for all age groups is 37.3%. By age group and type of injury/illness, infants with foreign bodies/liquid accidental ingestion, vulvar trauma, and fever with ear pain were low. Head injuries and vulvar injuries of all age groups, and fever accompanied by ear pain in junior high school students were found to vary among the clinical specialty of corresponding physicians.
Discussion: It was shown that it is necessary to revise the protocol of the referral consultation subject and prepare an initial medical treatment manual and guidelines for injuries and illnesses for which there are few facilities available for demand.
