scholarly journals Patients who leave the emergency department without being seen by a physician: a control-matched study

CJEM ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (02) ◽  
pp. 107-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Monzon ◽  
Steven Marc Friedman ◽  
Collin Clarke ◽  
Tamara Arenovich
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Wait Time ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Urgent Care ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Subjective Health Status ◽  
Care Clinic

ABSTRACTObjective:To describe the socio-demographic characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients who leave the emergency department (ED) without being seen by a physician.Methods:This 3-month prospective study was conducted at a downtown Toronto teaching hospital. Patients who left the ED without being seen (LWBS) were matched with controls based on registration time and triage level. Subjects and controls were interviewed by telephone within 1 week after leaving the ED.Results:During the study period, 386 (3.57%) of 10 808 ED patients left without being seen. One-third of these had no fixed address or no telephone, and only 92 (23.8%) consented to a telephone interview. They cited excessive wait time as the most common reason for leaving the ED (in 36.7% of cases). Despite leaving the ED without being seen, they were no more likely than those in the control group to seek follow-up medical attention (70 % in both groups). Among those from both groups who did seek follow-up, the LWBS patients were more likely to do so the same day or the day after leaving the ED. The LWBS patients often lacked a regular physician (39.1% v. 21.7%;p= 0.01) and were more likely to attend an ED or urgent care clinic (34.8% v. 12.0%;p< 0.001). Controls were more likely to follow up with a family physician (37.0% v. 23.9%;p= 0.06). The LWBS and control groups did not differ in subjective health status at 48 hours after leaving the ED, nor in subsequent re-investigation in hospital.Conclusions:Patients who leave the ED without being seen have different socio-demographic features, methods of accessing the health care system, affiliations and expectations than the general ED population. They are often socially disenfranchised, with limited access to traditional primary care. These patients are generally low acuity, but they are at risk of important and avoidable adverse outcomes.

scholarly journals Impact of a Cancer Urgent Care Clinic on Regional Emergency Department Visits

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. e501-e509
Author(s):  
Arthur S. Hong ◽  
Thomas Froehlich ◽  
Stephanie Clayton Hobbs ◽  
Simon J. Craddock Lee ◽  
Ethan A. Halm
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Emergency Department Visits ◽  
Urgent Care ◽  
Comprehensive Cancer Center ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Care Clinic ◽  
Urgent Care Clinic

PURPOSE: Did the creation of an urgent care clinic specifically for patients with cancer affect emergency department visits among adults newly diagnosed with cancer? PATIENTS AND METHODS: We applied an interrupted time series analysis to adjusted monthly emergency department visits made by adults age 18 years or older who were diagnosed with cancer between 2009 and 2016 at a comprehensive cancer center. Cancer registry patients were linked to a longitudinal regional database of emergency department and hospital visits. Because the urgent care clinic was closed on weekends, we took advantage of the natural experiment by comparing weekend visits as a control group. Our primary outcome was emergency department visits within 180 days after a cancer diagnosis, compiled as adjusted monthly rates of emergency department visits per 1,000 patient-months. We analyzed subsequent hospitalizations as a secondary outcome. RESULTS: The rate of weekday emergency department visits was increasing at a rate of 0.43 visits (95% CI, 0.29 to 0.57 visits) per month before May 2012, then fell in half to a rate of 0.19 visits (95% CI, 0.11 to 0.28 visits) per month ( P = .007) after the urgent care clinic was established. In contrast, the weekend visit rate was growing at a rate of 0.08 visits (95% CI, −0.03 to 0.19 visits) per month before May 2012 and 0.05 (95% CI, −0.02 to 0.13 visits; P = .533) afterward. By the end of 2016, there were 15.3 fewer monthly weekday emergency department visits than expected ( P = .005). Trends in weekday hospitalizations were not significantly changed. CONCLUSION: Although only one in eight emergency department–visiting patients also used the urgent care clinic, the growth rate of emergency department visits fell by half after the urgent care clinic was established.

Impact of an oncology urgent care clinic on emergency department rates.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 6615-6615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tannaz Sedghi ◽  
Maureen Canavan ◽  
Cary Philip Gross ◽  
Amy J. Davidoff ◽  
Bonnie Elyssa Gould Rothberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Urgent Care ◽  
Absolute Difference ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Care Clinic ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Visit Rate ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
The Impact

6615 Background: Oncology-specific urgent care clinics (UCC) may play a key role in reducing unscheduled emergency department (ED) visits among patients with cancer. We sought to determine if establishment of an Oncology UCC was associated with lower ED utilization among patients receiving cancer care at Yale’s Smilow Cancer Hospital (SCH) and two nearby, integrated community practices. Methods: SCH opened its UCC in April 2017 to provide supportive care and symptom management for patients with cancer who need acute medical attention outside of regular clinic visits. We identified patients who had at least one visit with an oncology provider during the Pre-UCC period (9/1/16 – 12/31/16) or Post-UCC period (9/1/17 – 12/31/17) and received chemotherapy within a year preceding their provider visit. For each patient, we captured all ED visits in a four-month window starting from their last provider visit in each study period. The ED visit rate for both periods was defined as the total number of ED visits divided by the total number of unique patients in the period. To determine the impact of the UCC on ED utilization, we evaluated the absolute difference in the ED visit rate between the Pre- and Post-UCC period using a two-sample t test. Results: There were 3,754 patients in the Pre-UCC period and 4,734 patients in the Post-UCC period. In the full study sample, the mean age was 62.9 and most common cancer types were Hematologic, Gastrointestinal, and Breast. Prior to opening the UCC, the ED visit rate was 0.27 per unique patient. After opening the UCC, we found a 13.9% relative decrease in the overall ED visit rate from 0.27 to 0.23 (p = 0.02). The SCH patient ED visit rate declined by 12.5% (p = 0.03) and the community practice rate declined by 37.1%; however, the latter decline was not statistically significant, potentially due to a small sample size (p = 0.19). Conclusions: Our study found a decrease in the ED visit rate after the opening of an Oncology UCC. An urgent care strategy for cancer centers may serve as an efficient way to manage patients while minimizing ED use. [Table: see text]

Antibiotic Prescribing in Adults Presenting with Pharyngitis Pre- and Post-Implementation of a Rapid Group A Streptococcus Test

2021 ◽  
pp. 001857872110323
Author(s):  
Preeyaporn Sarangarm ◽  
Timothy A. Huerena ◽  
Tatsuya Norii ◽  
Carla J. Walraven
Keyword(s):  
Group A Streptococcus ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Urgent Care ◽  
Antibiotic Prescribing ◽  
Care Clinic ◽  
Rapid Antigen Detection Test ◽  
Appropriate Prescribing ◽  
Icd 10 ◽  
Group A

Background: Group A Streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis is the most common bacterial cause of acute pharyngitis and is often over treated with unnecessary antibiotics. The purpose was to evaluate if implementation of a rapid antigen detection test (RADT) for GAS would reduce the number of inappropriately prescribed antibiotics for adult patients presenting with symptoms of pharyngitis. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of adult urgent care clinic patients pre- and post-implementation of a GAS RADT. We included patients who had a diagnosis of GAS identified via ICD-10 codes and either a throat culture, GAS RADT, or antibiotic prescribed for GAS. Antibiotic prescribing was assessed as appropriate or inappropriate based on testing and IDSA guideline recommendations. Thirty-day follow-up visits related to pharyngitis or the prescribed antibiotics was also evaluated. Results: A total of 1734 patients were included; 912 and 822 in the pre- and post-implementation groups, respectively. Following implementation of the GAS RADT, there was an increase in the number of antibiotics prescribed for GAS (43.4% vs 59.1%, P < .001) as well as an increase in appropriate prescribing (67.6% vs 77.5%, P < .001). More 30-day pharyngitis-related follow-up visits were seen in the pre-intervention group (12.5% vs 9.3%, P = .03). Conclusion: Implementation of a RADT for GAS pharyngitis was associated with an increase in both the overall number of antibiotic prescriptions for GAS and the proportion of appropriately prescribed antibiotics. There was also a reduction in follow up visits related to GAS pharyngitis, however educational efforts to further increase appropriate prescribing is needed.

scholarly journals P029: Requesting prescriptions in the emergency department: the patient, the request and the response

CJEM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
pp. S74-S75
Author(s):  
L. Shepherd ◽  
M. Mucciaccio ◽  
K. VanAarsen
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Family Doctor ◽  
Wait Time ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Urgent Care ◽  
Care Centre ◽  
Medication Prescription ◽  
Physician Decision Making ◽  
Service Gap ◽  
Urgent Care Centre

Introduction: Patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) for the sole purpose of requesting prescriptions are problematic. Problematic for the patient, who may have a long wait to be seen and may leave dissatisfied. Problematic for the ED physician, who is in the business of episodic not comprehensive care and is diligently trying to avoid the misappropriation of medications. The primary objective of this study was to determine the characteristics of patients who present to the ED or Urgent Care Centre (UCC) requesting a prescription, the nature of these requests and the resulting action by the attending physician. The secondary objective was to determine the proportion of medication requests and responses that have potential street value. With this knowledge we may be better positioned to serve these patients and support physician decision-making. Methods: This was a single-centre, retrospective electronic chart review looking at all adult patients with a presenting complaint of medication request who attended a two-site tertiary ED or an Urgent Care Centre (UCC) in London, Ontario between April 1, 2014 and June 30, 2017. Data was tested for normality and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 1923 cases met the inclusion criteria. Cases were removed (n = 421) if it was unclear which prescription was requested or if a non-medication prescription or injection was requested. The patient median (IQR) age was 44 (32-54) with 58% being male and 55% having a family doctor. There were a total of 2261 prescriptions requested by 1502 patients. The top 3 most commonly requested classes of medications were opioids 433/1502 (28.8%), antidepressants/antipsychotics 371/1502 (24.7%) and benzodiazepines 252/1502 (16.8%). The median (IQR) wait time was 73 minutes (35-128). 298/1502 (19.8%) of patients received their requested prescription (opioids 12.7%; antidepressant/antipsychotic 55.3% and benzodiazepines 16.3%). 740/1502 (49.3%) of patients requested a medication that had street value. Of those, 118/740 (15.9%) received the requested medication. Conclusion: There is no “one size fits all” solution for the patient who presents to the ED requesting a prescription. The large number of requests for psychiatric medications suggests a service gap for mental health patients in the community. This data supports the need for comprehensive electronic medication records to guide physicians’ decisions.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Controlled Acromegalic Patients: Radiotherapy Is Associated with Impaired Subjective Health Status (SF-36)

2011 ◽  
pp. P3-285-P3-285
Author(s):  
Sandra Schindler ◽  
Matthias Mohlig ◽  
Natalia Kremenevskaya ◽  
Michael Buchfelder ◽  
Christof Schofl
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Subjective Health Status ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
Long Term Follow Up

scholarly journals How Does Health Literacy Modify Indicators of Health Behaviour and of Health? A Longitudinal Study with Trainees in North Germany

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Peter Koch ◽  
Zita Schillmöller ◽  
Albert Nienhaus
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Behaviour ◽  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Subjective Health Status ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Over Time

Background: Health literacy (HL) is a resource that can help individuals to achieve more control over their health and over factors that influence health. In the present follow-up study, we have investigated the extent to which HL in trainees changes over time and whether or to what extent HL influences health behaviour and health. Methods: In 2017, we performed a baseline survey (T0) of trainees from six different branches, who were contacted through vocational colleges in four northern federal states in Germany. The survey was repeated at the midpoint of their training in 2019 (T1). Demographic data were surveyed, together with information on HL (HLS-EU-Q16), health behaviour and on health status (psychological well-being, subjective health status). Multivariate regression analyses were performed in SPSS 26. Results: Three hundred and ninety-one (391) data sets were evaluated, with a follow-up rate of 27%; 79% of the trainees were female. The mean age was 21.2 years. Over all subjects, the mean HL increased over time ( (SD): 11.9 (2.9) to 12.2 (2.9), p = 0.070). This increase was only statistically significant for the health service trainees ( (SD): 12.1 (2.8) to 12.5 (2.9), p = 0.019). Relative to persons with adequate HL, the odds ratio over time for impaired psychological well-being was increased by 230% in persons with inadequate HL (OR: 3.3, 95% CI: 1.70–6.32, p < 0.001). For persons with problematical HL, the corresponding increase in odds ratio was 110% (OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.30–3.38, p = 0.002). Relative to persons with adequate HL, trainees with inadequate HL exhibited a significant increase in odds ratio of 2.8 over time for poor or less good subjective health status (OR: 2.8, 95% CI: 1.23–6.33, p = 0.014). Conclusions: We observed a positive longitudinal association between HL and health. A significant increase in HL was observed in trainees in the health service. Thus the study shows that the concept of HL may provide a potential preventive approach for trainees.

scholarly journals A novel brief treatment for methamphetamine use disorders in South Africa: a randomised feasibility trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Sorsdahl ◽  
D. J. Stein ◽  
S. Pasche ◽  
Y. Jacobs ◽  
R. Kader ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Feasibility Trial ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Brief Treatment ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Methamphetamine Use ◽  
Intention To Treat

Abstract Background Effective brief treatments for methamphetamine use disorders (MAUD) are urgently needed to complement longer more intensive treatments in low and middle income countries, including South Africa. To address this gap, the purpose of this randomised feasibility trial was to determine the feasibility of delivering a six-session blended imaginal desensitisation, plus motivational interviewing (IDMI) intervention for adults with a MAUD. Methods We enrolled 60 adults with a MAUD and randomly assigned them 1:1 to the IDMI intervention delivered by clinical psychologists and a control group who we referred to usual care. Feasibility measures, such as rates of recruitment, consent to participate in the trial and retention, were calculated. Follow-up interviews were conducted at 6 weeks and 3 months post-enrollment. Results Over 9 months, 278 potential particiants initiated contact. Following initial screening 78 (28%) met inclusion criteria, and 60 (77%) were randomised. Thirteen of the 30 participants assigned to the treatment group completed the intervention. Both psychologists were highly adherent to the intervention, obtaining a fidelity rating of 91%. In total, 39 (65%) participants completed the 6-week follow-up and 40 (67%) completed the 3-month follow-up. The intervention shows potential effectiveness in the intention-to-treat analysis where frequency of methamphetamine use was significantly lower in the treatment than in the control group at both the 6 week and 3-month endpoints. No adverse outcomes were reported. Conclusions This feasibility trial suggests that the locally adapted IDMI intervention is an acceptable and safe intervention as a brief treatment for MAUD in South Africa. Modifications to the study design should be considered in a fully powered, definitive controlled trial to assess this potentially effective intervention. Trial registration The trial is registered with the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (Trial ID: PACTR201310000589295)

Use of Procalcitonin to Reduce Patients’ Exposure to Antibiotics in Intensive Care Units (PRORATA Trial)

2018 ◽  
pp. 276-281
Author(s):  
Alice Gallo De Moraes ◽  
Dante Schiavo
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Clinical Case ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Antibiotic Exposure ◽  
Icu Patients ◽  
Study Intervention

This chapter provides a summary of the landmark study known as the PRORATA trial. Does a procalcitonin (PCT)-based strategy to treat suspected bacterial infections in ICU patients reduce antibiotic exposure without adverse outcomes? Starting with that question, it describes the basics of the study, including funding, study location, who was studied, how many patients, study design, study intervention, follow-up, endpoints, results, and criticism and limitations. The chapter briefly reviews other relevant studies and information, discusses implications, and concludes with a relevant clinical case. The study suggests that critically ill patients managed with a PCT-guided antibiotic strategy to treat suspected bacterial infections results in more antibiotic-free days than those managing patients with clinical guidelines alone. The mortality of patients in the PCT arm was non-inferior to those in the control group at day 28 and at day 60. The strategy could be beneficial for reducing antibiotic resistance in the ICU.

scholarly journals The impact of the Emergency Department target upon the discharge decision for people who self-harm

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-97
Author(s):  
Michael Brian Haslam ◽  
Emma S. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Wait Time ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Patient Journey ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Target Time ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the influence of the Emergency Department (ED) target wait time upon the discharge decision in ED, specifically for patients who have self-harmed. Pressures to discharge patients to avoid breaching the 4-h target wait time, potentially increase the risk of adverse responses from clinicians. For the patient who has self-harmed, such interactions may be experienced as invalidating and may result in adverse outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Secondary data analysis was applied to the retrospective referral data of a Mental Health Liaison Team (MHLT), collected over a period of 11 months from a single hospital in the North of England. In total, 734 episodes of care were referred to the team from ED, where the primary presentation was recorded as self-harm. Findings Over half of patients referred to the MHLT from ED having self-harmed were seen after already breaching the target and the potential for a more restrictive outcome reduced. Of those patients seen within 4 h, the potential for a more restrictive treatment option was increased. Practical implications Recommendations to improve the patient journey for those who have self-harmed include mental health triage and treatment in clinical areas outside of the target. Social implications This study challenges the concept of the target as being realistic and attainable for patients who have self-harmed. Originality/value This exploratory study provides a starting point from which to explore the impact of the target time upon discharge decisions and clinical outcomes specifically for those who have self-harmed.

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