Nearly one in five Belgians used hospital emergencies in 2022, reveals the Intermutualist Agency. Attendance has been increasing for ten years, mainly attributed to patients going to the emergency room without a medical recommendation.
With the first winter wave and the increase in flu cases, emergency departments are recording an increase in the number of patients. The Intermutualist Agency has published figures on the use of hospital emergencies in 2022.
Nearly one in five Belgian policyholders visited hospital emergency rooms in 2022. This figure has increased significantly over the last ten years, although a temporary drop was recorded during the Covid-19 crisis.
Access to emergencies
Patients with an urgent medical problem that cannot be treated by a general practitioner can go to the emergency room. This can be done:
- after an intervention by service 112, where the patient is transported by ambulance or SMUR;
- on the recommendation of a general practitioner or specialist, with a letter detailing the medical situation;
- or on their own initiative.
Patients who go to the emergency room on their own initiative pay a higher co-payment to limit unnecessary use of these services, when care can be provided by a general practitioner.
Increase in hospitalizations
In 2022, 19.2% of Belgians used emergency services. This percentage, like the number of emergency hospitalizations, has gradually increased over the past ten years, except during the pandemic years (2020-2021). This increase is mainly due to patients going to the emergency room without a referral letter. The number of consultations with letters increased only slightly and decreased little in 2021.
Just under a quarter (23.4%) of emergency consultations result in hospitalization within 24 hours. For patients with a letter of recommendation, this rate reaches almost half (46.1%).
Emergency services are particularly requested by people over 80 and children under five. Between these two age categories, consultations with a letter increase with age, while those without a letter decrease. Elderly patients’ visits to the emergency room are more frequently followed by hospitalization than those of younger patients: among those over 80, this rate exceeds 60%.
Regional differences
The use of emergency services is slightly higher in Brussels and Wallonia (23.4% of the population in each region) than in Flanders (17.1%). The number of consultations with letter of recommendation is similar in the three regions. The differences are mainly at the level of consultations without a letter. In Brussels, a notable percentage concerns children under ten years old, while in Wallonia, use is higher among 15-35 year olds. Note that hospitalizations following an emergency consultation are less frequent in Brussels (14.1%) than in Flanders (28.5%) or Wallonia (19.5%).
More men affected
In 2022, slightly more men (19.6%) than women (18.9%) went to the emergency room. Among young boys under 20 and men over 65, consultations are slightly more numerous, but the differences remain minimal.
Beneficiaries of the increased intervention (BIM status) go to the emergency room more frequently (26.1%) than those who do not benefit from it (17.6%). However, this gap is much less marked among elderly patients.
Beneficiaries of the increased intervention also present more often with a letter of recommendation, and a slightly higher percentage of their consultations result in hospitalization.
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