Characterizing Highly Frequent Users of a Large Canadian Urban Emergency Department.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Highly frequent users (HFU) of the emergency department (ED) are a poorly defined population. This study describes patient and visit characteristics for Canadian ED HFU and patient subgroups with mental illness, substance misuse, or ≥ 30 yearly ED visits.

Methods

We reviewed health records from a random selection of adult patients whose visit frequency comprised the 99th percentile of yearly ED visits to The Ottawa Hospital. We excluded scheduled repeat ED assessments. We collected the following: 1) patient characteristics - age, sex, and comorbidities; and 2) ED visit characteristics - diagnosis category, length of stay, presentation time, consultation services, and final disposition. Two reviewers collected data, and we performed an inter-rater review to measu

SUBMITTER: Kim JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6225932 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature