Clinical and demographic characteristics of FVs to ED compared with those of non-FVs and whole visitors
| A total of 343 014 ED presentations from 170 134 individual patients | Whole population | FVs (39 979 presentations) (4+ per annum) | Very FVs (7570 presentations) (10+ per annum) | Non-FVs (303 035 presentations) (<4 per annum) |
| Total presentations since 2009–2016 | Percentage (frequency) | |||
| Demographic | ||||
| 0–9 | 18.02 (30 651) | 11.93 (641) | 2.22 (7) | 18.05 (30 520) |
| 10–19 | 14.93 (25 406) | 12.47 (670) | 10.48 (33) | 14.93 (25 258) |
| 20–39 | 31.80 (54 102) | 32.53 (1747) | 40 (126) | 31.82 (53 811) |
| 40–59 | 24.24 (41 244) | 26.07 (1400) | 34.92 (110) | 24.24 (40 988) |
| 60–70 | 11.01 (18 729) | 17 (913) | 12.38 (39) | 10.97 (18 548) |
| Male | 52.64 (89 582) | 49.1 (2637) | 46.98 (148) | 52.65 (89 041) |
| Female | 47.34 (80 548) | 50.9 (2734) | 53.02 (167) | 47.35 (80 082) |
| Indigenous | 2.97 (5056) | 5.7 (306) | 9.54 (30) | 3.08 (5214) |
| Arrival mode | ||||
| Ambulance (1) | 24.22 (83 086) | 36.95 (14 771) | 55.73 (4218) | 22.54 (68 315) |
| Private car (3) | 73.28 (251 365) | 59.45 (23 766) | 39.77 (3010) | 75.11 (227 599) |
| Police (7) | 1.32 (4524) | 1.95 (780) | 2.66 (201) | 1.24 (3744) |
| Triage category | ||||
| 1 | 0.58 (1996) | 0.74 (296) | 0.96 (73) | 0.56 (1700) |
| 2 | 14.76 (50 642) | 17.48 (6987) | 18.08 (1369) | 14.41 (43 655) |
| 3 | 29.28 (100 433) | 34.12 (13 642) | 34.45 (2608) | 28.64 (86 791) |
| 4 | 43.61 (149 591) | 37.11 (14 836) | 34.8 (2634) | 44.47 (134 755) |
| 5 | 11.76 (40 338) | 10.55 (4217) | 11.7 (886) | 11.92 (36 121) |
| Marital status | ||||
| 1 (never married) | 53.39 (90 492) | 50.05 (2687) | 49.52 (156) | 53.33 (89 873) |
| 2 (widowed) | 1.20 (2027) | 2.16 (116) | 2.86 (9) | 1.21 (2031) |
| 3 (divorced) | 3.56 (6040) | 6.52 (350) | 10.79 (34) | 3.61 (6076) |
| 4 (separated) | 2.19 (3709) | 4.13 (222) | 6.98 (22) | 2.20 (3707) |
| 5 (married) | 37.86 (64 163) | 36.58 (1964) | 29.52 (93) | 37.98 (63 995) |
| Mode of separation | ||||
| Admitted and discharged as inpatient within ED | 7.28 (24 972) | 9.39 (3753) | 11.6 (878) | 7.00 (21 219) |
| Admitted to ward, not a critical care ward | 31.05 (106 519) | 35.73 (14 284) | 26.99 (2043) | 30.44 (92 235) |
| Admitted: left at own risk | 0.35 (1208) | 0.86 (343) | 1.41 (107) | 0.29 (865) |
| Admitted: to critical care ward | 0.92 (3141) | 1.26 (503) | 1.1 (83) | 0.87 (2638) |
| Departed: did not wait | 1.76 (6031) | 2.4 (958) | 3.41 (1) | 1.67 (5073) |
| Departed: left at own risk | 5.01 (17.183) | 6.54 (2613) | 8.82 (258) | 4.81 (14 570) |
| Departed: treatment completed | 52.38 (179 657) | 42.63 (17 042) | 45.44 (668) | 53.66 (162 615) |
| Diagnostic category (ICD-10 v6) | ||||
| Certain infectious and parasitic diseases | 4.27 (12 967) | 3.01 (1079) | 1.41 (96) | 4.44 (1188) |
| Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism | 0.4 (1204) | 0.74 (267) | 0.25 (17) | 0.35 (937) |
| Diseases of the circulatory system | 3.44 (10 439) | 3.93 (1410) | 2.28 (155) | 3.38 (9029) |
| Diseases of the digestive system | 5.49 (16 656) | 5.46 (1957) | 4.03 (274) | 5.49 (14 699) |
| Diseases of the ear and mastoid process | 0.70 (2130) | 0.42 (150) | 0.24 (16) | 0.74 (1980) |
| Diseases of the eye and adnexa | 0.81 (2452) | 0.35 (126) | 0.15 (10) | 0.87 (2326) |
| Diseases of the genitourinary system | 4.45 (13 486) | 4.32 (1548) | 2.77 (188) | 4.46 (11 938) |
| Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue | 6.10 (18 498) | 5.72 (2051) | 6.73 (457) | 6.15 (16 447) |
| Diseases of the nervous system | 1.09 (3298) | 1.15 (414) | 1.35 (92) | 1.08 (2884) |
| Diseases of the respiratory system | 7.54 (22 861) | 7.88 (2825) | 5.43 (369) | 7.49 (20 036) |
| Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue | 3.06 (9275) | 3.02 (1081) | 1.97 (134) | 3.06 (8194) |
| Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases | 0.90 (2735) | 1.81 (650) | 2.55 (173) | 0.78 (2085) |
| External causes of morbidity and mortality | 0.25% (748) | 0.5 (179) | 0.85 (58) | 0.21 (569) |
| Factors influencing health status and contact with health services | 2.19 (6629) | 2.44 (873) | 3.2 (217) | 2.15 (5756) |
| Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes | 26.14 (79 288) | 12.94 (4639) | 10.01 (680) | 27.91 (74 649) |
| Mental and behavioural disorders | 5.00 (15 176) | 10.92 (3915) | 16.11 (1094) | 4.21 (11 261) |
| Neoplasms | 0.45 (1365) | 0.81 (290) | 0.32 (22) | 0.40 (1075) |
| Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium | 1.86 (5637) | 2.04 (731) | 0.87 (59) | 1.83 (4906) |
ED, emergency department; FV, frequent visitor; ICD-10, International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision.