Incident atrial fibrillation in the emergency department in Ontario: a population-based retrospective cohort study of follow-up care.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Continuity of care has been shown to be poor following in-hospital discharge, and there are substantially fewer resources to facilitate follow-up care arrangements after discharge from an emergency department. Our objective was to assess the frequency, timeliness and predictors for obtaining follow-up care following discharge from an emergency department in Ontario with a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving all patients discharged from the 157 nonpediatric emergency departments in Ontario, who received a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation between 2007 and 2012. We determined the frequency of follow-up care with a family physician, cardiologist or internist within 7 (timely) and 30 days of the emergenc

SUBMITTER: Atzema CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4565173 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature