14% - 27% of ED vists can be diverted - saving significant time and money
58% - 82% of pediatric ED visits are nonurgent conditions
The concept of "triaging out" must be replaced with the concept of "triaging to"
Fact Check
Americans seek a significant amount of non-emergent care in emergency departments, with long waits to be seen. Retail clinics and urgent care centers have emerged as alternative sites to the emergency department. We estimate that between 13.7 and 27.1 percent of all emergency department visits could be treated at one of these alternative sites with a potential cost savings of approximately $4.4 billion annually.
... The concept of "triaging out" must be replaced with the concept of "triaging to" an alternative provider to ensure the best care for our patients. In addition, the role of the hospital in providing adequate in-patient beds must be factored into any plan which limits care of any patient due to overcrowding...
Nonurgent conditions account for 58% to 82% of pediatric emergency department (ED) visits, but only 1 preliminary qualitative study has examined reasons why parents bring children to the ED for nonurgent care. The aim of this study was to identify parents' reasons for choosing the ED over their primary care provider (PCP) for nonurgent pediatric care.
Hospital to Community Health Center referrals are a win-win proposition. Your patients develop a medical home and do not have long waits in the emergency room for typically routine primary care services. For those Safety Net patients that are admitted, their discharge follow-up can be directed to a CHC. For those patients that present without emergent conditions, emergency department diversion can be accomplished by giving the patient an appointment at a CHC partner.
Much of our underserved population does not have a medical home, or a doctor’s office where they go for regular care, which means that they turn to hospital emergency departments for all of their health care needs. While emergency departments provide excellent care when someone is critically ill, they are not designed to help people stay healthy throughout their lives.
Through collaboration with local hospitals, a community health referral program has emerged as one of the nation’s most innovative approaches to increase access to primary care for all residents.
After initial exam, schedule an appointment for nonemergent patients with your partner CHC at time of discharge or diversion.
Print the patient referral form.