Ambulatory Follow-up and Outcomes Among Medicare Beneficiaries After Emergency Department Discharge.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Ambulatory follow-up care is frequently recommended after an emergency department (ED) visit. However, the frequency with which follow-up actually occurs and the degree to which follow-up is associated with postdischarge outcomes is unknown.

Objectives

To examine the frequency and variation in ambulatory follow-up among Medicare beneficiaries discharged from US EDs and the association between ambulatory follow-up and postdischarge outcomes.

Design, setting, and participants

This cohort study of 9 470 626 ED visits to 4728 US EDs among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older from 2011 to 2016 who survived the ED visit and were discharged to home used Kaplan-Meier curves and proportional hazards regression. Data analysis was conducted from December 2019 to J

SUBMITTER: Lin MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7547366 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature