[Availability of patient information in the emergency department : Wish and reality].

BACKGROUND Fast access to information from other healthcare service providers is particularly important in emergency medicine, as the patients are often unknown and treatment decisions have to be made promptly. OBJECTIVES The study aims to identify the challenges that emergency departments face in obtaining information on patient history, the expected benefits of easier access to information and which information is most urgently needed. MATERIALS AND METHODS An online survey throughout Germany was carried out among medical staff working in emergency departments. In all, 181 questionnaires were fully completed and could be included in the data analysis. RESULTS Of the respondents, 77.9% said it was difficult or very difficult to receive external data at the point of patient care. The survey participants estimate that they need an average of around 47 min to obtain information about one patient. 99.4% believe that patient care would benefit from an easier and faster information exchange. Medication lists, discharge letters, information on previous illnesses and allergies were classified as the most important data elements. CONCLUSIONS There is an urgent need for action with regard to the considerable effort involved in obtaining information on emergency patients. Digital solutions such as the recently introduced emergency data set can offer additional value for clinical emergency care if they are widely used.