• Sue E Kirby, Sarah M Dennis, Upali W Jayasinghe, and Mark F Harris.
• Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, School of Public Health & Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. s.kirby@student.unsw.edu.au
• Aust Health Rev. 2012 Aug 1;36(3):336-41.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the patient characteristics associated with unplanned return visits, using routinely collected hospital data, to assist in developing strategies to reduce their occurrence.MethodsEmergency department data from a regional hospital were analysed using univariate and multivariate methods to determine the influence of clinical, service usage and demographic patient characteristics on unplanned return visits.ResultsAround 80% of the 16000 patients attending emergency presented on only one occasion in a year. Five per cent of patients presented with an unplanned return visit. Older patients, those with minor and low urgency conditions and with non-psychotic mental health conditions, those presenting during winter and after hours were significantly more likely to present as unplanned return visits.ConclusionAlthough patient characteristics associated with unplanned return visits have been identified, the reasons underpinning the unplanned return visit rate, such as patient service preference and attitudes, need to be more fully investigated.

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