Table 1

Organisational and socioeconomic characteristics of the participating EDs, by region

	Region	Setting	Socioeconomic characteristics5	Organisational characteristics of the hospital EDs
	Region	Setting	Socioeconomic characteristics5	General characteristics	Communication tools with PCPs
ED 1	Dinant	Rural	The socioeconomic indicators (average income, unemployment and social integration income) are less positive compared with Wallonia.	University, private hospital. 15 556 admissions/year.	Combination of written reports, shared medical records and phone calls
ED 2	Ottignies	urban	Good socioeconomic status in general and a higher average income in comparison with Wallonia (+23.3%), high population growth since 1990 (+23.2%) with increased educational level.	General, public hospital. Presence of PCPs within the ED physicians’ team. 49 763 admissions/year.	Written reports and phone calls
ED 3	Charleroi	Urban	Low socioeconomic status, lower incomes compared with the Belgian population, more unemployment, more single-parent families, fewer tertiary graduates.	General, private hospital. 31 214 admissions/year.	Combination of written reports, emails, shared medical record and phone calls
ED 4	Brussels	Urban	Diversity in origin, cultural background and socioeconomic status; about one-third of the population is living with an income below the risk threshold of poverty.	General, private hospital. 43 142 admissions/year.	Shared medical record and phone calls
ED 5	Brussels	Urban		University, public hospital. Presence of PCPs within the ED physicians’ team. 52 919 admissions/year.	Written reports and phone calls.