Access to advanced-level hospital care: differences in prehospital times calculated using incident locations compared with patients’ usual residence

A recent study featuring PISC External Advisory Board Member Charles Branas, PhD, evaluates whether patient residence is an effective proxy for injury incident location. Injury fatalities data from 2008 to 2012 was drawn from the New Zealand Mortality Collection. Estimated transportation to emergency care was calculated from both the patient’s place of residence and the location of injury incidence. Results indicate that, between 2008 and 20012, 73% of patients received timely access to care using injury incidence locations, while 77% of patients received timely access to care when using home locations. Estimations, however, predict less timely access to care when utilizing patient residence, specifically for injuries that occur in industrial areas. Based on these results, the team concludes, “when considering timely access to definitive care, using the location of the injury as the origin provides important information for health system planning.”

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