Potentially avoidable inter-facility transfer from Veterans Health Administration emergency departments: A cohort study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Inter-facility transfer is an important strategy for improving access to specialized health services, but transfers are complicated by over-triage, under-triage, travel burdens, and costs. The purpose of this study is to describe ED-based inter-facility transfer practices within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and to estimate the proportion of potentially avoidable transfers. METHODS:This observational cohort study included all patients treated in VHA EDs between 2012 and 2014 who were transferred to another VHA hospital. Potentially avoidable transfers were defined as patients who were either discharged from the receiving ED or admitted to the receiving hospital for ≤1 day without having an invasive procedure performed. We conducted facility- and diagnosis-level analys

SUBMITTER: Mohr NM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7014752 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature