Table 1 Characteristics of study participants and their ED visits

UH

VH

UH

VH

Total number of visits

13,134

21,464

10,785

17,740

Time of the day

   8 a.m. --4 p.m.

6,120 (46.6%)

9,956 (46.4%)

4,978 (46.1%)

8,037 (45.3%)

   4 p.m.-midnight

4,749 (36.2%)

7,905 (36.8%)

4,040 (37.5%)

6,801 (38.3%)

   Midnight-8 a.m.

2,265 (17.2%)

3,603 (16.8%)

1,767 (16.4%)

2,902 (16.4%)

Day of the week

   Weekdays

9,353 (71.2%)

15,423 (71.9%)

7,839 (72.7%)

12,788 (72.1%)

   Weekends

3,781 (28.8%)

6,041 (28.1%)

2,946 (27.3%)

4,952 (27.9%)

Main reason

   Mental and behavioral disorders

242 (1.8%)

1,155 (5.4%)

196 (1.8%)

881 (5.0%)

   Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium

121 (0.9%)

646 (3.0%)

76 (0.7%)

516 (2.9%)

   Diseases of the circulatory system

550 (4.2%)

589 (2.7%)

470 (4.4%)

513 (2.9%)

   Injury, poisoning, or external causes of morbidity and mortality

2,924 (22.3%)

4,971 (23.2%)

2,228 (20.7%)

4,034 (22.7%)

   Other reasons

9,297 (70.8%)

14,103 (65.7%)

7,815 (72.4%)

11,796 (66.5%)

Triage level

   Urgent

5,269 (40.1%)

9,791 (45.6%)

4,378 (40.6%)

8,085 (45.6%)

   Less urgent

7,082 (53.9%)

10,994 (51.2%)

5,923 (54.9%)

9,219 (52.0%)

   Non urgent

783 (6.0%)

679 (3.2%)

484 (4.5%)

436 (2.4%)

Wait time differences

   UH shorter

4,665 (35.5%)

7,505 (35.0%)

4,084 (37.9%)

6,295 (35.5%)

   VH shorter

6,699 (51.0%)

11,041 (51.4%)

5,907 (54.8%)

10,110 (57.0%)

   Same

1,770 (13.5%)

2,918 (13.6%)

794 (7.3%)

1,335 (7.5%)

Number of eligible patients

10,349

16,304

8,845

14,004

Age group

   19-40

4,564 (44.1%)

8,054 (49.4%)

3,980 (45.0%)

7,086 (50.6%)

   41-60

3,125 (30.2%)

5,185 (31.8%)

2,592 (29.3%)

4,383 (31.3%)

   >61

2,660 (25.7%)

3,065 (18.8%)

2,273 (25.7%)

2,535 (18.1%)

Gender

   Female

5,465 (52.8%)

8,773 (53.8%)

4,679 (52.9%)

7,563 (54.0%)

   Male

4,884 (47.2%)

7,531 (46.2%)

4,166 (47.1%)

6,441 (46.0%)

Distances to two sites

   UH closer

4,999 (48.3%)

2,755 (16.9%)

4,254 (48.1%)

2,283 (16.3%)

   VH closer

5,350 (51.7%)

13,549 (83.1%)

4,591 (51.9%)

11,721 (83.7%)