- Primary care clinicians like GPs can see 10-30% of emergency department cases depending on the setup, with more ambitious targets likely leading to underutilized emergency staff.
- There is variation in how primary care is integrated into emergency departments, with four main models including separate or integrated reception and operations.
- Objectives for including primary care include reducing admissions and wait times, but the emphasis should be on collaboration and providing prompt care to all patients.
- Responsibilities like clinical governance and auditing are sometimes unclear when primary care clinicians see patients in emergency departments.