The ultimate aim of this study is to
pilot test a discharge tool which has the potential to reduce
unnecessary visits to the Emergency Department (ED), reduce
healthcare expenditure in the ED, as well as streamline and enhance
the quality of care delivered to ED patients. The ED is an
important and frequently used setting of care for a large part of
the U.S. population. In 2006, there were nearly 120 million ED
visits in the U.S., of which only 15.5 million (14.7%) resulted in
admission to the hospital or transfer to another hospital. Thus the
majority ED visits result in discharge to home. Patients discharged
from the ED face significant risk for adverse outcomes, with
between 3-5 patients per 100,000 visits experiencing an unexpected
death following discharge from the ED. Additionally, a sizable
minority of patients return to the ED frequently. Published studies
estimate that 4.5% to 8% of patients revisit the ED 4 or more times
per year, accounting for 21% to 28% of all ED visits. Internal data
from John Hopkins Hospital, AHRQ's contractor for this pilot test,
supports these findings with 7% of their patients accounting for
26% of visits to the Johns Hopkins Hospital ED in 2011. Patients
who revisit the ED contribute to overcrowding, unnecessary delays
in care, dissatisfaction, and avoidable patient harm. ED revisits
are also an important contributor to rising health care costs, as
ED care is estimated to cost two to five times as much as the same
treatment delivered by a primary care physician. Thus it is
estimated that eliminating revisits and inappropriate use of EDs
could reduce health care spending as much as $32 billion each year.
Overall, an effective and efficient ED discharge process would
improve the quality of patient care in the ED as well as reduce
healthcare costs. To respond to the challenges faced by our
nation's EDs and the patients they serve, AHRQ will develop and
pilot test a tool to improve the ED discharge process.
US Code:
42
USC 299 Name of Law: Healthcare Research and Quality Act of
1999
US Code: 42 USC 299 Name of Law: Healthcare
Research and Quality Act of 1999
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