Association of Patients’ Perception of Primary Care Provider Listening With Emergency Department Use.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hinderaker K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7279109 | biostudies-literature | 2020
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundEvidence is limited and mixed as to how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansions affected the utilization of primary care physicians (PCPs) and emergency departments (EDs) at the national level.ObjectiveTo examine the association between the ACA Medicaid expansions and changes in the utilization of PCP and ED visits at the national level during the first 3 years (2014-2016) of the implementation.DesignA difference-in-differences analysis to compare outcomes between individuals in 32 states that expanded Medicaid versus individuals in 19 non-expansion states.ParticipantsA nationally representative sample of US-born individuals 26-64 years old with family incomes lower than 138% of the federal poverty level from the 2010-2016 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.InterventionACA Medicaid expansions MAIN MEASURES: We examined PCP-related outcomes ((i) whether a participant had any PCP visit during a year and (ii) the annual number of PCP visits per person) and ED-related outcomes ((i) whether a participant had any ED visit during a year and (ii) the annual number of ED visits per person).Key resultsA total of 17,803 participants were included in our analysis. We found that the proportion of individuals with any PCP visit during a year marginally increased (difference-in-differences estimate, + 3.6 percentage points [pp]; 95% CI, - 0.4 pp to + 7.6 pp; P = 0.08) following the Medicaid expansions, without any change in the annual number of PCP visits per person. We found no evidence that ED utilization (both the proportion of individuals with any ED visit during a year and the annual number of ED visits per person) changed meaningfully after the Medicaid expansions.ConclusionUsing the nationally representative data of individuals who were affected by the ACA, we found that the ACA Medicaid expansions were associated with a modest improvement in access to PCPs without an increase in ED use.
| S-EPMC7080920 | biostudies-literature
Project description:To assess the relationship between the number of primary care providers (PCPs) in an area and emergency department (ED) visits by older adults.Population-based cross-sectional observational study.Nonfederal EDs in North Carolina in 2010.All older adults (n = 640,086) presenting to a nonfederal ED in North Carolina in 2010.The primary outcome was the number of ED visits by older adults in each ZIP code per 100 adults aged 65 and older living in that ZIP code. A secondary outcome was the number of ED visits not resulting in hospital admission per 100 older adults. The primary predictor variable was the number of PCPs per 100 older residents for each ZIP code. Covariates included those representing healthcare need (Medicare hospitalizations, nursing home beds), predisposing factors for healthcare use (race, education, population density of older adults), and enabling factors (distance to the nearest ED).In a multivariable regression model corrected for spatial clustering, ZIP code characteristics associated with ED visits included more hospitalizations by Medicare beneficiaries, more nursing home beds, and closer proximity to an ED. Number of PCPs per 100 older adult residents in each ZIP code was not associated with ED use, and the 95% confidence limit indicates at most a small effect of PCP availability on ED use.These findings suggest that primary care availability has at most a limited effect on ED use by older adults in North Carolina.
| S-EPMC4819003 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundOver the past decade, a growing number of older Medicare beneficiaries visit the Emergency Department (ED) and have been placed in observation care. We investigated and compared the prevalence and factors associated with patients age ≥ 65 years with Medicare insurance who are placed in the hospital, observation care, or discharged following an ED visit.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from a nationally representative 5% sample of Medicare patients age ≥ 65 years during the year 2013. We performed multiple generalized estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression analyses to assess the relationship between placement in a hospital vs. discharge, observation care vs. discharge, and observation care vs. admission.ResultsOf 537,455 Medicare beneficiaries age ≥ 65 years who visited an ED in 2013, 48.0% (N= 258,083) were discharged, 10.5% (N=56,184) placed in observation care, and 41.5% (N=223,188) were admitted to the inpatient service following the ED visit. The top 2 diagnoses associated with placement in the hospital vs. discharge were ischemic heart disease and renal disease. Patients with symptomatic diagnoses such as chest pain and dizziness were more likely to be placed in observation care following an ED visit as compared to admission to the hospital.ConclusionCompared to prior studies, we found a greater number of older Medicare ED patients placed in observation care and a lower number admitted to the hospital. Most common diagnoses of placement in observation care were symptom-based as compared to being admitted to the hospital which were disease-based.
| S-EPMC5935261 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Asthma exacerbations are frequent in the pediatric emergency department (ED) and result in significant morbidity and costs; standardized treatment improves outcomes. In this study, we aimed to use provider adherence data and the associated patient outcomes as an intervention to change behavior and improve care.MethodsWe used a retrospective cohort design to analyze 2 years of baseline data for asthma patient encounters. Providers were classified based on guideline adherence. We compared patient outcomes by provider adherence using Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact test. Our intervention included education with data feedback and peer comparison. We then analyzed changes in guideline adherence, the proportion of patients admitted, length of stay (LOS), and costs for this population over time using statistical process control charts.ResultsIn our baseline data analysis, patients seen by less adherent physicians had a higher likelihood of admission (65.1% versus 50.8%, P < 0.001), a longer ED LOS (4.7 versus 4.2 h, P = 0.007), and higher costs ($1,896.20 versus $1,728.50, P < 0.001). Using SPC analysis, there was an improvement in guideline adherence by providers (64%-77%) with a mirrored improvement in patient adherence (76%-84%) associated with our interventions. Admissions decreased 1 year after the intervention; ED LOS and returns remained unchanged.ConclusionIn this study, we evaluated patient outcomes according to provider adherence to a clinical guideline and used the results to change provider behavior and improve patient outcomes. Active provision of feedback with peer comparison for providers was associated with improved adherence over time.
| S-EPMC7774994 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Depression is one of the most common illnesses in the United States, with increased prevalence among people with lower socioeconomic status and chronic mental illness who often seek care in the emergency department (ED). We sought to estimate the rate and severity of major depressive disorder (MDD) in a nonpsychiatric ED population and its association with subsequent ED visits and hospitalizations. METHODS:This prospective cohort study enrolled a convenience sample of English-speaking adults presenting to an urban academic medical center ED without psychiatric complaints between January 1, 2015, and September 21, 2015. Patients completed a computerized adaptive depression diagnostic screen (CAD-MDD) and dimensional depression severity measurement test (CAT-DI) via tablet computer. Primary outcomes included number of ED visits and hospitalizations assessed from index visit until January 1, 2016. Negative binomial regression modeling was performed to assess associations between depression, depression severity, clinical covariates, and utilization outcomes. RESULTS:Of 999 enrolled patients, 27% screened positive for MDD. The presence of MDD conveyed a 61% increase in the rate of ED visits (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.27 to 2.03) and a 49% increase in the rate of hospitalizations (IRR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.06-2.09). For each 10% increase in MDD severity, there was a 10% increase in the relative rate of subsequent ED visits (IRR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.16) and hospitalizations (IRR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.18). Across the range of the severity scale there was over a 2.5-fold increase in the rate of ED visits and hospitalization rates. CONCLUSIONS:Rates of depression were high among a convenience sample of English-speaking adult ED patients presenting with nonpsychiatric complaints and independently associated with increased risk of subsequent ED utilization and hospitalization. Standardized assessment tools that provide rapid, accurate, and precise classification of MDD severity have the potential to play an important role in identifying ED patients in need of urgent psychiatric resource referral.
| S-EPMC6690783 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo determine the association between a large-scale, multi-payer primary care redesign-the Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) Initiative-on outpatient emergency department (ED) and urgent care center (UCC) use and to identify the types of visits that drive the overall trends observed.Data sourcesMedicare claims data capturing characteristics and outcomes of 565 674 Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries attributed to 497 CPC practices and 1 165 284 beneficiaries attributed to 908 comparison practices.Study designWe used an adjusted difference-in-differences framework to test the association between CPC and beneficiaries' ED and UCC use from October 2012 through December 2016. Regression models controlled for baseline practice and patient characteristics and practice-level clustering of standard errors. Our key outcomes were all-cause and primary care substitutable (PC substitutable) outpatient ED and UCC visits, and potentially primary care preventable (PPC preventable) ED visits, categorized by the New York University Emergency Department Algorithm. We used a propensity score-matched comparison group of practices that were similar to CPC practices before CPC on multiple dimensions. Both groups of practices had similar growth in ED and UCC visits in the two-year period before CPC.Principal findingsComprehensive Primary Care practices had 2% (P = .06) lower growth in all-cause ED visits than comparison practices. They had 3% (P = .02) lower growth in PC substitutable ED visits, driven by lower growth in weekday PC substitutable visits (4%, P = .002). There was 3% (P = .04) lower growth in PPC preventable ED visits with no weekday/nonweekday differential. As expected, our falsification test showed no difference in ED visits for injuries. UCC visits had 9% lower growth for both all-cause (P = .08) and PC substitutable visits (P = .07).ConclusionsOur results suggest that greater access to the practice and more effective primary care both contributed to the lower growth in ED and UCC visits during the initiative.
| S-EPMC7704466 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveIn response to concerns about patient care and safety, our urban, tertiary care, Level 1 trauma center adult emergency department (ED) created an advanced practice provider-staffed critical care step-down unit (CCSU). We conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the CCSU's impact on patient care, safety, and ED operations.MethodsWe compared ED length of stay, return visits to the ED within 72 hours, billing code assignments (current procedural terminology evaluation and management [CPT E&M] codes), and quality of electronic health record documentation per QNOTE for the 2 years after the CCSU was initiated (CCSU period) versus before its initiation (pre-CCSU period).ResultsThere were 31,418 critical care ED patient visits in the pre-CCSU period and 33,396 in the CCSU period. Median ED length of stay did not change overall between the CCSU versus pre-CCSU period (∆1 [95% confidence interval (CI) = -2.4, 4.4] minutes), but decreased for patients who remained in the critical care suites (∆-4 [95% CI = -7.8, -0.2] minutes). 72-hour return ED visits also did not change overall (∆0% [95% CI = -0.1, 0]), but decreased for patients who remained in the critical care suites (∆0.4% [95% CI = -0.05, -0.4]). CPT E&M billing increased for highest-level visits (99,291: ∆1.3% [95% CI= 0.5, 2.0]). Quality of electronic health record documentation as measured by QNOTE also improved (∆11.5% [95% CI = 4.9, 18.1]).ConclusionThis ED's CCSU performance metrics indicate at least moderate improvement in ED length of stay, 72-hour return visits, critical care patient billing, and electronic health record documentation. EDs elsewhere can consider implementation of this advanced practice provider-staffed solution to improvement in critical care in ED.
| S-EPMC7493497 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceThe emergency department (ED) discharge process often involves haste and poor communication.ObjectivesTo assess the association of an automated telephone call 2 days after ED discharge with the likelihood of an unplanned ED revisit at both 72 hours and 7 days after the index visit and with perceived care metrics measured at 14 days.Design, setting, and participantsThis prospective nonrandomized clinical trial was conducted at a single academically affiliated county emergency department among 8110 patients presenting to and discharged from the ED during a 10-week period from June 25 to August 30, 2018. Initial statistical analysis was performed from February 1 to November 30, 2020, with additional analyses performed from March 1 to 16, 2022.InterventionsParticipants were allocated in a nonrandom fashion to 1 of 2 groups: patients who received an automated telephone call 2 days after discharge were compared with patients who received no call 2 days after discharge. All patients received a telephone questionnaire at 14 days to assess secondary outcome measures.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was a return visit to the ED at 7 days. Secondary outcomes included a return visit to the ED within 72 hours, a return visit to the ED within 7 days resulting in hospital admission, and patient-reported perceptions of their care measured by 4 questions related to quality metrics assessed at 14 days. A secondary analysis compared patients who actually responded to the initial call at 2 days with all nonresponders, regardless of whether they received a call. Analyses were made on an intention-to-treat basis.ResultsMore than 15 000 patients were seen in the ED during the 10-week study period, and 10 948 were discharged. A total of 8110 patient encounters (4460 male patients [55.0%]; 3313 Hispanic patients [40.9%]; mean [SD] age, 40.5 [19.4] years) were enrolled. A total of 2958 patients (36.5%) received an automated telephone call at 2 days after discharge, while 5152 (63.5%) received no call. Rates of ED return within 7 days of the initial index visit were significantly lower among those who received a call at 2 days than those who did not receive a call (224 of 2958 [7.6%] vs 533 of 5152 [10.3%]; P < .001). Patients who received a 2-day call were more likely than those who did not receive a call to have followed up with a health care clinician (67.9% [374 of 551] vs 66.3% [604 of 911]), understood their health issues (77.5% [490 of 632] vs 74.9% [780 of 1042]), and have received their discharge medications (87.0% [507 of 583] vs 83.6% [793 of 949]), although none of these differences between the 2 groups were statistically significant.Conclusions and relevanceA telephone call to patients 2 days after discharge from the ED was associated with decreased ED use at 7 days after the index visit and may have been associated with marginal improvements in measured quality of care metrics.
| S-EPMC9123498 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The expansion of health insurance to millions of Americans through the Affordable Care Act has given rise to concerns about increased use of emergency department (ED) and hospital services by previously uninsured populations. Prior research has demonstrated that continuity with a regular source of primary care is associated with lower use of these services and with greater patient satisfaction. We assessed the impact of a policy to increase patients' adherence to an individual primary care provider or clinic on subsequent use of ED and hospital services in a California coverage program for previously uninsured adults called the Health Care Coverage Initiative. We found that the policy was associated with a 42 percent greater probability of adhering to primary care providers. Furthermore, patients who were always adherent had a higher probability of having no ED visits (change in probability: 2.1 percent) and no hospitalizations (change in probability: 1.7 percent), compared to those who were never adherent. Adherence to a primary care provider can reduce the use of costly care because it allows patients' care needs to be managed within the less costly primary care setting.
| S-EPMC4499851 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPrimary care attachment improves health care access and health outcomes, but many Canadians are unattached, seeking a provider via provincial wait-lists. This Nova Scotia-wide cohort study compares emergency department utilization and hospital admission associated with insufficient primary care management among patients on and off a provincial primary care wait-list, before and during the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe linked wait-list and Nova Scotian administrative health data to describe people on and off wait-list, by quarter, between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 24, 2020. We quantified emergency department utilization and ambulatory care sensitive condition (ACSC) hospital admission rates by wait-list status from physician claims and hospital admission data. We compared relative differences during the COVID-19 first and second waves with the previous year.ResultsDuring the study period, 100 867 people in Nova Scotia (10.1% of the provincial population) were on the wait-list. Those on the wait-list had higher emergency department utilization and ACSC hospital admission. Emergency department utilization was higher overall for individuals aged 65 years and older, and females; lowest during the first 2 COVID-19 waves; and differed more by wait-list status for those younger than 65 years. Emergency department contacts and ACSC hospital admissions decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic relative to the previous year, and for emergency department utilization, this difference was more pronounced for those on the wait-list.InterpretationPeople in Nova Scotia seeking primary care attachment via the provincial wait-list use hospital-based services more frequently than those not on the wait-list. Although both groups have had lower utilization during COVID-19, existing challenges to primary care access for those actively seeking a provider were further exacerbated during the initial waves of the pandemic. The degree to which forgone services produces downstream health burden remains in question.
| S-EPMC10287103 | biostudies-literature