Association Between Perceived Discrimination and Emergency Department Use Among Safety-Net Patients in the Southwestern United States.

OBJECTIVES: Patients' perceptions of how they are treated in their interactions with the healthcare system represent important and valid measures of healthcare quality that may influence health utilization, outcomes, and costs. Perceived discrimination or the sense of being treated unfairly is an important patient perception known to adversely affect health, but the relation of such perceptions to health-seeking behaviors related to low-acuity emergency department (ED) use is unclear. The objectives of this exploratory study were to describe the prevalence and nature of perceived discrimination or perceived unfair treatment (PD/PUT), and to examine the association of PD/PUT with healthcare utilization among adult safety-net patients in the southwestern United States who sought ED treatment for low-acuity conditions. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey data were collected via self-administered questionnaires completed by adult safety-net patients who were uninsured or covered by Medicaid and who sought ED treatment for low-acuity conditions (N = 310). We used descriptive statistics to describe PD/PUT in the healthcare experiences reported by study participants. We used logistic regression to examine the association between PD/PUT and participants' likelihood to seek health care from ED and non-ED settings. RESULTS: Thirty-eight percent of study participants reported PD/PUT, most frequently attributed to insurance status (being uninsured or covered by Medicaid). Participants who reported PD/PUT in their ability to access medical care or to obtain health insurance were significantly more likely to be frequent (vs nonfrequent) ED users (odds ratio [OR] 3.80, P < 0.001) and to use multiple (vs 1) EDs (OR 3.79, P < 0.001) during a 12-month period. Participants who reported PD/PUT while receiving medical care were more likely to have received care in ED and non-ED settings, as compared with EDs only (OR 2.02, P = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of this sample of adult safety-net patients in the Southwest reported experiencing PD/PUT in their healthcare interactions and most frequently attributed such perceptions to their insurance status. Although this study does not establish a causal link between PD/PUT and utilization of care in specific settings, it highlights the need to better understand the underlying causes of PD/PUT across multiple delivery settings and to clarify the extent to which such experiences may influence patients' healthcare-seeking behaviors. Federal and state policies that aim to maintain or expand health insurance coverage for safety-net populations should consider the role of health insurance status in driving perceptions of being discriminated against or treated unfairly.

Reducing preventable emergency department utilization and costs by using community health workers as patient navigators.

Primary care-related emergency department (PCR-ED) utilization, including for conditions that are preventable or treatable with appropriate primary care, is associated with decreased efficiency of and increased costs to the health system. Many PCR-ED users experience actual or perceived problems accessing appropriate, ongoing sources of medical care. Patient navigation, an intervention used most often in the cancer care continuum, may help to address these barriers among medically underserved populations, such as those who are low income, uninsured, publicly insured, or recent U.S. immigrants. We examined a patient navigation program designed to promote appropriate primary care utilization and prevent or reduce PCR-ED use at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, Texas. The intervention is facilitated by bilingual, state-certified community health workers (CHWs) who are trained in peer-to-peer counseling and connect medically underserved patients with medical homes and related support services. The CHWs provide education about the importance of primary care, assist with appointment scheduling, and follow up with patients to monitor and address additional barriers. Our study found that the patient navigation intervention was associated with decreased odds of returning to the ED among less frequent PCR-ED users. Among patients who returned to the ED for PCR reasons, the pre/post mean visits declined significantly over a 12-month pre/post-observation period but not over a 24-month period. The savings associated with reduced PCR-ED visits were greater than the cost to implement the navigation program. Our findings suggest that an ED-based patient navigation program led by CHWs should be further evaluated as a tool to help reduce PCR-ED visits among vulnerable populations.

Building and Advancing Coalition Capacity to Promote Health Equity: Insights from the Health Equity Collective's Approach to Addressing Social Determinants of Health.

This article presents the structure and function of the Health Equity Collective in developing a systemic approach to promoting health equity across the Greater Houston area. Grounded in Kania and Kramer's five phases of collective impact for coalition building, The Collective operationalizes its mission through its backbone team, steering committees, and eight workgroups; each has goals that mutually reinforce and advance its vision. To date, Phase I (generating ideas), Phase II (initiating action), and Phase III (organizing for impact) have been completed. Phases IV (implementation) and Phase V (sustainability) are currently underway.

Exploring the Value Proposition of Primary Care for Safety-Net Patients Who Utilize Emergency Departments to Address Unmet Needs.

BACKGROUND: An underlying assumption of strategies intended to promote appropriate primary care over emergency department (ED) use for ongoing health care needs is that patients will understand the "value proposition" of primary care: that they will receive specific benefits from primary care providers over and above what they receive from EDs. However, there is evidence that this value proposition may be unclear to safety-net patients. The goals of this study are to describe factors motivating ED use for low-acuity conditions; describe similarities and differences in usual source of care (USOC) experiences, by ED versus non-ED setting; and assess awareness and perceptions of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) concept among safety-net patients. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study of adult patients (n = 329) at 3 safety-net hospitals in the Southwest. RESULTS: Key reasons for ED use were perceived urgency, lack of awareness about other options for care, payment flexibility, and perceived quality and convenience. Approximately half of participants indicated they would seek treatment in non-ED settings, if available, but agreement differed by group (non-ED USOC, 60.2%; ED USOC, 50.7%; no USOC, 45.3%; P = .025). Agreement that providers coordinated access to needed medical services was significantly higher among patients with non-ED USOCs; agreement that providers coordinated non-medical services that facilitate access to care was similar (approximately 45%) for patients with ED and non-ED USOCs. Approximately 70% of participants in both groups agreed that every person should have a medical home. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived experiences of care in ED and non-ED USOC settings suggest challenges and opportunities for increasing the value proposition of primary care for safety-net patients. Although patients are receptive to the PCMH concept, effective strategies to better highlight the value of primary care in coordinating both medical and related nonmedical services and other PCMH benefits warrant further investigation.