Reducing Emergency Department Overuse

Overuse of the Emergency Department for non-urgent or avoidable visits costs the U.S health care system an estimated $38 billion/ year. A Research Brief was published by New England Healthcare Institute Reducing Emergency Department Overuse. The brief covered the following topics:

• Who overuses the ED?
• What are the root causes of the problem?
• What are the consequences of ED Overuse?
• Solutions
• Redesign primary care services
• Telephone Access to After-Hours Consultation
• Extended Practice Hours
• Open Access Scheduling
• Group Visits or Shared Medical Appointments
• Access to Appropriate Services
• Outreach to Primary Care Providers
• Connecting Vulnerable Patients to Appropriate Services
• Provide Alternative Sites of Primary Care for Non-Urgent Conditions
• Urgent Care Services
• Worksite Clinics
• Telemedicine
• Improve Disease Care and Management
• Provide Patient Education
• Offer Patients Financial Incentives
• Increased Co-payments for Non-Urgent Use
• Healthy Rewards Accounts
• Collect Improved Data on ED Use
• ED Census Reports
• Predictive Modeling
• NEHI Recommends the following: 
• Establish collaborative relationships among EDs, primary care providers and community services
• Understand the Patient Population
• Reform payment for primary care services
• Invest in health information technology
• Increase the primary care workforce
• Redesigning primary care services

To view the full study, please click the following link: "Reducing Emergency Department Overuse"

For additional billing, coding, and reimbursement resources, please click the following link: Medical Reimbursement Resources Page