A Retrospective Review of Emergency Department Visits That May Be Appropriate for Management in Non-Emergency Settings.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Emergency departments (EDs) continue to struggle with overcrowding, increasing wait times, and a surge in patients with non-urgent conditions. Patients frequently choose the ED for non-emergent medical issues or injuries that could readily be handled in a primary care setting. We analyzed encounters in the ED at the Brooke Army Medical Center-the largest hospital in the Department of Defense-to determine the percentage of visits that could potentially be managed in a lower cost, appointment-based setting.

Materials and methods

We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients within our electronic medical record system from September 2019 to August 2020, which represented equidistance from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a shift in ED used bas

SUBMITTER: Tapia AD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9383230 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature