The California journal of emergency medicine / California Chapter of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine
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To compare perception of the need for emergency care by emergency department (ED) patients vs. emergency physicians (EPs). ⋯ For serious complaints, ED patients' thresholds for seeking care are higher than judged appropriate by EPs. Stroke is not uniformly recognized as an emergency. Absent consensus for the "correct" threshold, the prudent layperson standard is appropriate.