Are Rural and Urban Emergency Departments Equally Prepared to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations?

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Attempts to reduce low-value hospital care often focus on emergency department (ED) hospitalizations. We compared rural and urban EDs in Michigan on resources designed to reduce avoidable admissions.

Methods

A cross-sectional, web-based survey was emailed to medical directors and/or nurse managers of the 135 hospital-based EDs in Michigan. Questions included presence of clinical pathways, services to reduce admissions, and barriers to connecting patients to outpatient services. We performed chi-squared comparisons, regression modeling, and predictive margins.

Results

Of 135 EDs, 64 (47%) responded with 33 in urban and 31 in rural counties. Clinical pathways were equally present in urban and rural EDs (67% vs 74%, p=0.5). Compared with urban EDs, rural EDs

SUBMITTER: Greenwood-Ericksen MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6526889 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature