Referral of Patients With Biological Abnormalities to an Emergency Department

Biological testing is an essential part of general medical practice and plays a role in 60% to 70% of diagnoses. 68.5% of prescriptions are written by general practitioners, and one in seven general medical consultations ends with a prescription for biological testing. The study of patient trajectories is a recent emerging topic in the literature, encompassing general concepts. The angle most often taken is medico-economic and focused on specific chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular disease. To our knowledge, there are a number of referrals to emergency departments by general practitioners for patients with biological abnormalities. However, to our knowledge, no study to date has attempted to quantify these specific referrals.