Getting to the Heart of the Matter: A Triage Model to Improve Utilization of Cardiology Consultative Services.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To assess the impact of a triage system of emergency department (ED) referrals for outpatient cardiology appointments.

Patient and methods

We implemented a triage system of ED referrals for outpatient cardiology appointments among patients with a cardiovascular chief complaint deemed safe to leave the ED but needing outpatient follow-up. There were 303 and 267 unique patients in the pre-triage implementation and post-triage implementation cohorts, respectively. We collected retrospective billing data to assess ED return visits, hospitalizations, cardiology outpatient visits, and cardiovascular testing. The pre-triage implementation cohort included patients with an ED visit date between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014. The post-triage implementation cohort in

SUBMITTER: Agor JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6978585 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature