This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows:

Main objective:

To assess the effects of acute assessment services on patient flow following attendance at a hospital emergency department.

Secondary objectives:

To assess whether the effects of acute assessment services differ according to the specialty population they serve (medicine-only versus surgery-only versus combined services).

To assess whether the effects of acute assessment services differ depending on access pathways for patients (direct access to the service at or before the point of triage versus access via ED provider referral).