scholarly journals Impact of a Student-Run Clinic on Emergency Department Utilization

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 420-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjali B. Thakkar ◽  
Pooja Chandrashekar ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Bonnie B. Blanchfield
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Emergency Department Utilization ◽  
Primary Care Access ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Appropriate Care ◽  
Average Change ◽  
Source Of Care ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
Value Based Care ◽  
The Impact

Background and Objectives: Student-run clinics (SRCs) provide primary care access to low-income patients who would otherwise pursue more expensive care, such as visits to emergency departments (ED). Decreasing inappropriate ED utilization offers an opportunity to create value in the health care system. However, to date, no SRC has rigorously studied this. This study examines whether increased access to ambulatory care through an SRC, the Crimson Care Collaborative (CCC), is associated with decreased ED utilization, providing value to payers and providers, and justifying investment in SRCs. Methods: We conducted a 5-year retrospective analysis of 796 patients to determine if ED utilization changed after patients enrolled in CCC. We used patient-level ED visit data to estimate the average change in ED utilization. A regression analysis examined the impact of demographic and clinical variables on changes in ED utilization. Results: Average per-patient ED utilization significantly (P<0.001) decreased by 23%, 50%, and 48% for patients enrolling in CCC from 2013 to 2015, respectively. Following enrollment in CCC, average ED utilization decreased by 0.39 visits per patient per year. This translates to 62.01 avoided ED visits annually, and estimated payer savings of $84,148, representing 68% of the clinic’s direct operating costs. Conclusions: CCC created value to payers and providers from 2013-2015 by providing a lower-cost source of care and increasing ED capacity for more emergent and appropriate care. This study suggests that SRCs can create financial value for both payers and providers while also providing an avenue to teach value-based care in medical education.

scholarly journals Low-acuity emergency department use among patients in different primary care models in Hamilton and Ontario

2021 ◽  
pp. 084047042110120
Author(s):  
Olivia Ly ◽  
David Price ◽  
Refik Saskin ◽  
Michelle Howard
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Fee For Service ◽  
Primary Care Access ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Care Models ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
Primary Care Practices ◽  
The Impact

Jurisdictions such as Hamilton, Ontario, where most primary care practices participate in patient enrolment models with enhanced after-hours access, may demonstrate overall improved health equity outcomes. Non-urgent Emergency Department (ED) use has been suggested as an indicator of primary care access; however, the impact of primary care access on ED use is uncertain and likely varies by patient and contextual factors. This population-based, retrospective study investigated whether or not different primary care models were associated with different rates of non-urgent ED visits in Hamilton, a city with relatively high neighbourhood marginalization, compared to the rest of Ontario from 2014/2015 to 2017/2018. In Ontario, enrolment capitation-based practices had more non-urgent ED visits than non-enrolment fee-for-service practices. In Hamilton, where most of the city’s family physicians are in enrolment capitation-based practices, differences between models were minimal. The influence of primary care reforms may differ depending on how they are distributed within regions.

scholarly journals Impact of the first COVID-19 shelter-in-place order in the United States on emergency department utilization, Marin County, California

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett R. Bayles ◽  
Michaela F George ◽  
Haylea Hannah ◽  
Patti Culross ◽  
Rochelle R. Ereman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emergency Department Utilization ◽  
Marin County ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
The Impact

Background: The first shelter-in-place (SIP) order in the United States was issued across six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on critical care resources. We sought to assess the impact of this large-scale intervention on emergency departments (ED) in Marin County, California. Methods: We conducted a retrospective descriptive and trend analysis of all ED visits in Marin County, California from January 1, 2018 to May 4, 2020 to quantify the temporal dynamics of ED utilization before and after the March 17, 2020 SIP order. Results: The average number of ED visits per day decreased by 52.3% following the SIP order compared to corresponding time periods in 2018 and 2019. Both respiratory and non-respiratory visits declined, but this negative trend was most pronounced for non-respiratory admissions. Conclusions: The first SIP order to be issued in the United States in response to COVID-19 was associated with a significant reduction in ED utilization in Marin County.

Effects of Hurricanes on Emergency Department Utilization: An Analysis Across 7 US Storms

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Kevin C Heslin ◽  
Marguerite L Barrett ◽  
Molly Hensche ◽  
Gary Pickens ◽  
Jeanne S Ringel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Emergency Department Utilization ◽  
Disease Category ◽  
Preparedness Planning ◽  
Emergency Managers ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Population Rate

ABSTRACT Objective: Emergency departments (EDs) are critical sources of care after natural disasters such as hurricanes. Understanding the impact on ED utilization by subpopulation and proximity to the hurricane’s path can inform emergency preparedness planning. This study examines changes in ED utilization for residents of 344 counties after the occurrence of 7 US hurricanes between 2005 and 2016. Methods: This retrospective observational study used ED data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases and State Emergency Department Databases. ED utilization rates for weeks during and after hurricanes were compared with pre-hurricane rates, stratified by the proximity of the patient county to the hurricane path, age, and disease category. Results: The overall population rate of weekly ED visits changed little post-hurricane, but rates by disease categories and age demonstrated varying results. Utilization rates for respiratory disorders exhibited the largest post-hurricane increase, particularly 2–3 weeks following the hurricane. The change in population rates by disease categories and age tended to be larger for people residing in counties closer to the hurricane path. Conclusions: Changes in ED utilization following hurricanes depend on disease categories, age, and proximity to the hurricane path. Emergency managers could incorporate these factors into their planning processes.

scholarly journals P035: Impact of EMS direct referral to community care on emergency department utilization

CJEM ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (S1) ◽  
pp. S75
Author(s):  
A. Dukelow ◽  
M. Lewell ◽  
J. Loosley ◽  
S. Pancino ◽  
K. Van Aarsen
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Home Care Services ◽  
Emergency Department Visits ◽  
Emergency Department Utilization ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
The Impact

Introduction: The Community Referral by Emergency Medical Services (CREMS) program was implemented in January 2015 in Southwestern Ontario. The program allows Paramedics interacting with a patient to directly refer those in need of home care support to their local Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) for needs assessment. If indicated, subsequent referrals are made to specific services (e.g. nursing, physiotherapy and geriatrics) by CCAC. Ideally, CREMS connects patients with appropriate, timely care, supporting individual needs. Previous literature has indicated CREMS results in an increase of home care services provided to patients. Methods: The primary objective of this project is to evaluate the impact of the CREMS program on Emergency Department utilization. Data for all CCAC referrals from London-Middlesex EMS was collected for a thirteen month period (February 2015-February 2016). For all patients receiving a new or increased service from CCAC the number of Emergency Department visits 2 years before referral and 2 years after referral were calculated. A related samples Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was performed to examine the difference in ED visits pre and post referral to CCAC. Results: There were 213 individuals who received a new or increased service during the study timeframe. Median [IQR] patient age was 77 [70-85.5]. 113/213 (53%) of patients were female. The majority of patients 135/213 (63.4%) were a new referral to CCAC. The median [IQR] number of hospital visits before referral was 3 [1-5] and after referral was 2 [0-4]. There was no significant difference in the overall number of ED visits before versus after referral (955 vs 756 visits, p = 0.051). Conclusion: Community based care can improve patient experience and health outcomes. Paramedics are in a unique position to assess patients in their home to determine who might benefit from home care services. CREMS referrals for this patient group showed a trend towards decreased ED visits after referral but the trend was not statistically significant.

Roles for Health Educators in a Time of Health Care Cutbacks: Preventive and Ameliorative Approaches

1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Richard Brown
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Community Organization ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Health Educators ◽  
Care Access ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Impact

Cutbacks in public health care programs at federal, state, and local levels have reduced the health care access of many low-income persons. Based on findings from several California studies, this article suggests several roles for health educators intended to prevent cutbacks or mitigate their impact. Methods of preventing cutbacks rely on community organization methods and coalitions including health education professional groups. When preventive actions are unsuccessful, health educators may ease the impact of cutbacks by developing adequate education interventions for users of affected services and community organization strategies to improve access to remaining services. Specific methods are suggested and discussed.

Abstract P331: Impact of Primary Care Access and Continuity of Care in Reduction of Hospital/Emergency Department Admissions in Patients With Hypertension: A Systematic Review

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 141 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Divya Rajmohan ◽  
Konstantin Golubykh ◽  
Anastasiia Avdeeva ◽  
Ashraf Mahmood ◽  
Muhammad Sarmad Aleem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Ambulatory Care ◽  
Continuity Of Care ◽  
Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions ◽  
Primary Care Access ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
Access To Primary Care

Background: Hypertension, defined as a systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic pressure ≥90 mmHg, is one of the most common chronic diseases (prevalence is 29.0% among adults) and is part of the Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSC). In most cases, hypertension is considered a secondary diagnosis because complications that could result from the disease are the reasons why patients with hypertension are admitted to the hospital and Emergency Department (ED). Thereby, preventive approaches are integral in the management of these complications and access to primary care along with continuity are considered to be crucial components of preventive medicine. Hypothesis: We assess the hypothesis that increased access to primary care and continuity of care can reduce ED visits along with hospitalization rates in patients with hypertension. Methods: We reviewed articles from years 2005 to 2019 from peer reviewed journals. All publications were written in English and were mostly from the United States. However, we also included studies from other countries for comparison. We identified 2115 articles in total: 784 from Science Direct, 687 from Pubmed and 644 from Google Scholar, using these keywords: Hypertension, Hospitalization, Emergency Department, Primary care, Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions. Based on the titles, we investigated abstracts of 198 potentially relevant articles. Abstracts were rated independently by each member of the pair of reviewers and scored for relevance (relevant/ non-relevant). The second step was to have the full text of the remaining studies (n = 146) reviewed by the same team to check whether papers met inclusion criteria. Through this process, 96 studies were excluded. A total of 50 studies remained and were included in our systematic review. Results: From 50 research articles that were included; 38 studies showed statistically significant (p < 0.05) finding that increased access to primary care and its continuity decreases hospitalizations and/or ED admissions in patients with hypertension, 8 studies did not find statistically significant association between these factors. 4 studies showed statistically significant conclusion that general or family physicians as PCPs decrease hospitalization and ED admission rate in comparison with specialist physicians as PCP. Conclusion: We concluded that increased primary care access and its continuity are associated with a statistically significant decrease in the incidence of hospitalizations and/or ED visits for patients with hypertension.

scholarly journals Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Primary Care Access for Patients with Hematologic Malignancies

Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 4011-4011
Author(s):  
Ying Ling ◽  
Kelvin Chan ◽  
Aditi Patrikar ◽  
Ning Liu ◽  
Aisha Lofters ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Hematologic Malignancies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Myeloid Malignancy ◽  
Primary Care Access ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Virtual Visits ◽  
Unplanned Hospitalizations ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Introduction: Primary care physicians are essential to cancer care. They frequently identify signs and symptoms leading to a diagnosis of cancer, and provide ongoing support and management of non-cancer health conditions during cancer treatment. Both primary care and cancer care have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, cancer-related patient encounters and cancer screening decreased over 40% and 80% respectively in January to April 2020 compared to 2019 (London et al. JCO Clin Cancer Inform 2020). However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care access for cancer patients remain unclear. Methods: We undertook a population-based, retrospective cohort study using healthcare databases held at ICES in Ontario, Canada. Patients with a new lymphoid or myeloid malignancy diagnosed within the year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, between July 1, 2019 and September 30, 2019 (COVID-19 cohort) were compared to patients diagnosed in years unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic, between July 1, 2018 - September 30, 2018 and July 1, 2017 - September 30, 2017 (pre-pandemic cohort). Both groups were followed for 12 months after initial cancer diagnosis. In the COVID-19 cohort, this allowed for at least 4 months of follow-up data occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary outcome was number of in-person and virtual visits with a primary care physician. Secondary outcomes of interest included number of in-person and virtual visits with a hematologist, number of visits to the emergency department (ED), and number of unplanned hospitalizations. Outcomes, reported as crude rates per 1000 person-months, were compared between the COVID-19 and pre-pandemic cohorts using Poisson regression modelling. Results: We identified 2882 individuals diagnosed with a new lymphoid or myeloid malignancy during the defined COVID-19 timeframe and compared them to 5997 individuals diagnosed during the defined pre-pandemic timeframe. The crude rate of in-person primary care visits per 1000 person-months significantly decreased from 574.4 [95% CI 568.5 - 580.4] in the pre-pandemic cohort to 402.5 [395.3 - 409.7] in the COVID-19 cohort (p &lt; 0.0001). Telemedicine visits to primary care significantly increased from 5.3 [4.8 - 5.9] to 173.0 [168.4 - 177.8] (p &lt; 0.0001). The rate of combined in-person and telemedicine visits to primary care did not change from 579.8 [573.8 - 585.8] in the pre-pandemic cohort to 575.5 [566.9 - 584.2] in the COVID-19 cohort (p = 0.43). In-person visits to hematologists decreased from 504.1 [498.5 - 509.7] to 432.8 [425.3 - 440.3] (p &lt; 0.0001), and telemedicine visits to hematologists increased from 6.6 [6.0 - 7.3] to 75.9 [72.8 - 79.1] (p &lt; 0.0001). The rate of combined visits to hematologists did not change from 510.7 [505.1 - 516.4] to 508.7 [500.6 - 516.8] (p = 0.68). The rate of ED visits significantly decreased from 95.1 [92.7 - 97.6] in the pre-pandemic cohort to 84.7 [81.4 - 88.0] in the COVID-19 cohort (p &lt; 0.0001). The rate of unplanned hospitalizations did not change from 64.8 [62.8 - 66.8] to 65.7 [62.9 - 68.7] (p = 0.60). Conclusions: Primary care visits for patients with hematologic malignancies did not significantly change during the pandemic, but there was a sizeable shift from in-person to telemedicine visits. Similar findings were seen for visits to hematologists. While the rate of visits to the ED decreased, potentially due to concern of being exposed to the COVID-19 virus, the shift in ambulatory practices did not seem to impact the rate of unplanned hospitalizations. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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