Impact of Expanding Screening Colonoscopy Interval on Providers Choice of Prescribing Colonoscopy for Colorectal Cancer Screening.

GOALS: We investigated if increasing the colonoscopy screening interval from 10 to 15 years would increase provider preferences for colonoscopy as a screening test. We further examined whether having colonoscopy performed at a 15-year interval by an endoscopist with a high adenoma detection rate would influence preferences. BACKGROUND: Colonoscopy is recommended every 10 years in average risk individuals without polyps for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. The use of a 15-year interval offers substantial protection, increases cost-effectiveness, and might make colonoscopy more attractive to patients and health care providers who order CRC screening tests. STUDY: An anonymous online survey of health care providers across a health care system that serves a single US state and encompasses both academic and community physicians was conducted. Physicians and nurse practitioners in family medicine, obstetrics-gynecology, and internal medicine were included. Providers were asked to indicate their preference for CRC screening tests as a proportion of tests they prescribe among 5 common screening tools. Responses were compared for current colonoscopy screening intervals and if the screening intervals are increased to 15 years. RESULTS: One hundred and twelve (34%) responded of 326 providers. Colonoscopy was the most frequently ordered test for CRC screening. Increasing screening interval from 10 to 15 years increased the choice of colonoscopy from 75.2% to 78.6% ( P =0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Expanding colonoscopy screening interval to 15 years could produce an increase in physicians and nurse practitioners choice of using colonoscopy for CRC screening, but the clinical impact appears minor. Additional surveys of patients and providers are needed.

Hospital Strategies for Reducing Emergency Department Crowding: A Mixed-Methods Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Emergency department (ED) crowding and patient boarding are associated with increased mortality and decreased patient satisfaction. This study uses a positive deviance methodology to identify strategies among high-performing, low-performing, and high-performance improving hospitals to reduce ED crowding. METHODS: In this mixed-methods comparative case study, we purposively selected and recruited hospitals that were within the top and bottom 5% of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services case-mix-adjusted ED length of stay and boarding times for admitted patients for 2012. We also recruited hospitals that showed the highest performance improvement in metrics between 2012 and 2013. Interviews were conducted with 60 key leaders (physicians, nurses, quality improvement specialists, and administrators). RESULTS: We engaged 4 high-performing, 4 low-performing, and 4 high-performing improving hospitals, matched on hospital characteristics including geographic designation (urban versus rural), region, hospital occupancy, and ED volume. Across all hospitals, ED crowding was recognized as a hospitalwide issue. The strategies for addressing ED crowding varied widely. No specific interventions were associated with performance in length-of-stay metrics. The presence of 4 organizational domains was associated with hospital performance: executive leadership involvement, hospitalwide coordinated strategies, data-driven management, and performance accountability. CONCLUSION: There are organizational characteristics associated with ED decreased length of stay. Specific interventions targeted to reduce ED crowding were more likely to be successfully executed at hospitals with these characteristics. These organizational domains represent identifiable and actionable changes that other hospitals may incorporate to build awareness of ED crowding.

Association Between Patient and Emergency Department Operational Characteristics and Patient Satisfaction Scores in a Pediatric Population.

BACKGROUND: Emergency departments (EDs) are seeing an increase in the importance of patient satisfaction scores, yet little is known about their association with patient and operational characteristics. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify patient and operational characteristics associated with patient satisfaction scores. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of data from Press Ganey patient satisfaction surveys of pediatric patients (<18 years) and their families, discharged from the ED of a single, academic, pediatric ED from December 2009 to May 2013. A linear mixed-effects regression model was used to identify significant associations while taking the clustering within patients and physicians into account. Outcome variables included scores for overall experience (0-10), wait time to be seen by a provider (0-100), and likelihood to recommend (0-100). The ED characteristics considered included daily census, proportion of left without being seen, average length of stay (LOS), and total boarding hours, as well as time of day by shift, door-to-room time, and discharge LOS. Patient characteristics included patient age, sex, race, person completing survey, survey language, survey method (mailed or online), payer type, mode of arrival, distance to hospital, weekend or weekday visit, and difference of patient-reported LOS to actual LOS. Only statistically significant variables were included in the final model. RESULTS: A total of 810 pediatric surveys were included for analysis. The overall mean (SD) was 8.7 (2.0) for overall experience, 84.0 (23.5) for waiting time to be seen by a provider, and 90.1 (22.2) for likelihood to recommend. The score for overall experience was highly correlated with likelihood to recommend (r = 0.90) and less strongly correlated with score for waiting time (r = 0.58). In the final models, increased door-to-room time was associated with a significant decrease in scores for all 3 outcome variables. In addition, a difference between perceived and actual LOS (>2 hours) was significantly associated with lower scores in overall experience and likelihood to recommend, whereas surveys completed online had higher scores for waiting time to see a provider compared with mailed. CONCLUSIONS: Emergency departments looking to increase satisfaction scores should focus efforts on decreasing door-to-room times.

Associations between patient and emergency department operational characteristics and patient satisfaction scores in an adult population.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Our primary aim is to identify patient and emergency department (ED) characteristics that are associated with patient satisfaction scores. METHODS: This retrospective study reviewed Press Ganey patient satisfaction surveys completed between December 2009 and May 2013 in a single academic ED for all patients aged 21 years and older. Patient and ED operational characteristics were included in the analysis. The outcomes were satisfaction scores for overall experience, likelihood to recommend, and wait time before consulting provider. A linear mixed-effects regression model was used while taking the clustering within patients and physicians into account. RESULTS: Two thousand eighty-three patients were included in the analysis, representing all responses to the survey. A total response rate could not be calculated because Press Ganey does not report the total number of surveys sent out. During this period, 119,244 patients were treated in the ED. The overall mean score was 7.7 (SD 2.7) for overall experience, 78.0 (SD 31.8) for likelihood to recommend, and 70.9 (SD 30.7) for wait time before consulting provider. For all 3 outcomes, white older patients with low door-to-room times had higher scores. Additionally, survey language and payer type were significantly associated with overall experience score, discharge length of stay and time of day by shift were significantly associated with wait time scores, and patients who arrive by ambulance were less likely to recommend the ED. CONCLUSION: Both ED and patient characteristics were associated with satisfaction with care. EDs seeking to increase patient satisfaction scores may consider working on reducing door-to-room times.

Is outpatient emergency department care profitable? Hourly contribution margins by insurance for patients discharged from an emergency department.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We determine the contribution margin per hour (ie, profit) by facility evaluation and management (E&M) billing level and insurance type for patients treated and discharged from an urban, academic emergency department (ED). METHODS: Billing and demographic data for patients treated and discharged from an ED with greater than 100,000 annual visits between 2003 and 2009 were collected from hospital databases. The primary outcome was contribution margin per patient per hour. Contribution margin by insurance type (excluding self-pay) was determined at the patient level by subtracting direct clinical costs from contractual revenue. Hospital overhead and physician expenses and revenue were not included. RESULTS: In 523,882 outpatient ED encounters, contribution margin per hour increased with increasingly higher facility billing level for patients with commercial insurance ($70 for E&M level 1 to $177 at E&M level 5) but decreased for patients with Medicare ($44 for E&M level 1 to $29 at E&M level 5) and Medicaid ($73 for E&M level 1 to -$16 at E&M level 5). During the study years, cost, charge, revenue, and length of stay increased for each billing level. CONCLUSION: In our hospital, contribution margin per hour in ED outpatient encounters varied significantly by insurance type and billing level; commercially insured patients were most profitable and Medicaid patients were least profitable. Contribution margin per hour for patients commercially insured increased with higher billing levels. In contrast, for Medicare and Medicaid patients, contribution margin per hour decreased with higher billing levels, indicating that publicly insured ED outpatients with higher acuity (billing level) are less profitable than similar, commercially insured patients.

Association of emergency department and hospital characteristics with elopements and length of stay.

BACKGROUND: As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) core measures in 2013 compare Emergency Department (ED) treatment time intervals, it is important to identify ED and hospital characteristics associated with these metrics to facilitate accurate comparisons. STUDY OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to assess differences in operational metrics by ED and hospital characteristics. ED-level characteristics included annual ED volume, percentage of patients admitted, percentage of patients presenting by ambulance, and percentage of pediatric patients. Hospital-level characteristics included teaching hospital status, trauma center status, hospital ownership (nonprofit or for-profit), inpatient bed capacity, critical access status, inpatient bed occupancy, and rural vs. urban location area. METHODS: Data from the ED Benchmarking Alliance from 2004 to 2009 were merged with the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey Database to include hospital characteristics that may impact ED throughput. Overall median length of stay (LOS) and left before treatment is complete (LBTC) were the primary outcome variables, and a linear mixed model was used to assess the association between outcome variables and ED and hospital characteristics, while accounting for correlations among multiple observations within each hospital. All data were at the hospital level on a yearly basis. RESULTS: There were 445 EDs included in the analysis, from 2004 to 2009, with 850 observations over 6 years. Higher-volume EDs were associated with higher rates of LBTC and LOS. For-profit hospitals had lower LBTC and LOS. Higher inpatient bed occupancies were associated with a higher LOS. Increasing admission percentages were positively associated with overall LOS for EDs, but not with rates of LBTC. CONCLUSIONS: Higher-volume EDs are associated with higher LBTC and LOS, and for-profit hospitals appear more favorably in these metrics compared with their nonprofit counterparts. It is important to appreciate that hospitals have different baselines for performance that may be more tied to volume and capacity, and less to quality of care.

The impact of an ED-only full-capacity protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of an emergency department (ED)-only full-capacity protocol and diversion, controlling for patient volumes and other potential confounding factors. METHODS: This was a preintervention and postintervention cohort study using data 12 months before and 12 months after the implementation of the protocol. During the implementation period, attending physicians and charge nurses were educated with clear and simple figures on the criteria for the initiation of the new protocol. A multiple logistic regression model was used to compare ambulance diversion between the 2 periods. RESULTS: The proportion of days when the ED went on diversion at least once during a 24-hour period was 60.4% during the preimplementation period and 20% in the postimplementation periods (P < .001). In the multivariate logistic regression model, the use of the new protocol was significantly associated with decreased odds of diversion rate in the postimplementation period (odds ratio, 0.32; 95% confidence interval, 0.21-0.48). CONCLUSION: Our predivert/full-capacity protocol is a simple and generalizable strategy that can be implemented within the boundaries of the ED and is significantly associated with a decreased diversion rate.

Predictors of patient length of stay in 9 emergency departments.

OBJECTIVES: Prolonged emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) is linked to adverse outcomes, decreased patient satisfaction, and ED crowding. This multicenter study identified factors associated with increased LOS. METHODS: This retrospective study included 9 EDs from across the United States. Emergency department daily operational metrics were collected from calendar year 2009. A multivariable linear population average model was used with log-transformed LOS as the dependent variable to identify which ED operational variables are predictors of LOS for ED discharged, admitted, and overall ED patient categories. RESULTS: Annual ED census ranged from 43,000 to 101,000 patients. The number of ED treatment beds ranged from 27 to 95. Median overall LOS for all sites was 5.4 hours. Daily percentage of admitted patients was found to be a significant predictor of discharged and admitted patient LOS. Higher daily percentage of discharged and eloped patients, more hours on ambulance diversion, and weekday (vs weekend) of patient presentation were significantly associated with prolonged LOS for discharged and admitted patients (P < .05). For each percentage of increase in discharged patients, there was a 1% associated decrease in overall LOS, whereas each percentage of increase in eloped patients was associated with a 1.2% increase in LOS. CONCLUSIONS: Length of stay was increased on days with higher percentage daily admissions, higher elopements, higher periods of ambulance diversion, and during weekdays, whereas LOS was decreased on days with higher numbers of discharges and weekends. This is the first study to demonstrate this association across a broad group of hospitals.

Fixed-wing medical transport crashes: characteristics associated with fatal outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies within the aeromedical literature have looked at factors associated with fatal outcomes in helicopter medical transport, but no analysis has been conducted on fixed-wing aeromedical flights. The purpose of this study was to look at fatality rates in fixed-wing aeromedical transport and compare them with general aviation and helicopter aeromedical flights. METHODS: This study looked at factors associated with fatal outcomes in fixed-wing aeromedical flights, using the National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Incident Database from 1984 to 2009. RESULTS: Fatal outcomes were significantly higher in medical flights (35.6 vs. 19.7%), with more aircraft fires (20.3 vs. 10.5%) and on-ground collisions (5.1 vs. 2.0%) compared with commercial flights. Aircraft fires occurred in 12 of the 21 fatal crashes (57.1%), compared with only 2 of the 38 nonfatal crashes (5.3%) (P < .001). In the multiple logistic regression model, the only factor with increased odds of a fatal outcome was the presence of a fire (56.89; 95% CI, 4.28-808.23). CONCLUSIONS: Similar to published studies in helicopter medical transport, postcrash fires are the primary factor associated with fatal outcomes in fixed-wing aeromedical flights.

Implementing electronic health records in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: The increasing presence of electronic health records (EHRs) in health care presents interesting and unique challenges in the Emergency Department (ED) setting. Unfortunately, scant literature exists addressing the implementation of EHRs in this setting. OBJECTIVES: The authors, both involved in the implementation of such systems at their respective institutions, review the challenges and benefits that exist with such implementation, and the steps that EDs can take to facilitate this process. DISCUSSION: Unlike ambulatory and inpatient settings, where patient volume can be adjusted to help with this transition, EDs are unable to alter their volume and must maximize their efficiency during this process. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding and anticipating the EHR's impact on workflow is critical to successful implementation.

Rural Emergency Medicine: patient volume and training opportunities.

BACKGROUND: A paucity of board-certified Emergency Physicians practice in rural Emergency Departments (EDs). One proposed solution has been to train residents in rural EDs to increase the likelihood that they would continue to practice in rural EDs. Some within academic Emergency Medicine question whether rural hospital EDs can provide adequate patient volume for training an Emergency Medicine (EM) resident. STUDY OBJECTIVES: To compare per-physician patient-volumes in rural vs. urban hospital EDs in Oklahoma (OK) and the proportion of board-certified EM physicians in these two ED settings. METHODS: A 21-question survey was distributed to all OK hospital ED directors. Analysis was limited to non-military hospitals with EDs having an annual census > 15,000 patient visits. Comparisons were made between rural and urban EDs. RESULTS: There were 37 hospitals included in the analysis. Urban EDs had a higher proportion of board-certified EM physicians than rural EDs (80% vs. 28%). There were 4359 vs. 4470 patients seen per physician FTE (full-time equivalent) in the rural vs. urban ED settings, respectively (p = 0.84). CONCLUSIONS: Patient volumes per physician FTE do not differ in rural vs. urban OK hospital EDs, suggesting that an adequate volume of patients exists in rural EDs to support EM resident education. Proportionately fewer board-certified Emergency Physicians staff rural EDs. Opportunities to increase rural ED-based EM resident training should be explored.

A practical approach to the healthcare crisis: solutions for Hawai'i and the nation (Part 2 of 2).

We have previously reviewed the challenges facing Hawai'i and the nation in terms of healthcare. Successfully addressing these challenges will require major changes in the delivery of healthcare and societal/legal perspectives. In this issue, we outline the key factors needed collectively and simultaneously to address these challenges. These factors are: (1) a capitated care model focused on health and chronic disease management; (2) universal access to a basic healthcare delivery system, and acceptance of the service limitations associated with such a model of care delivery; (3) a universal electronic shared health information system as a mechanism by which care in such a system can be coordinated; (4) an approach to developing state sanctioned, legal approaches to avoiding or minimizing futile care; (5) enhancement of systems of care (e.g., statewide trauma systems); (6) alignment of practitioner and hospital reimbursement with societal health goals, with legal protections; (7) a system of no-fault patient compensation when injuries occur in the course of medical care; and (8) support of expanded training programs for physicians, nurses and other practitioners.

A practical approach to the healthcare crisis: the current challenges facing Hawai'i and the nation (part 1 of 2).

Although there is consensus regarding the existence of a healthcare crisis, that point is where the consensus stops, even within defined professional and demographic groups. Clearly there is evidence that we must address a growing societal expenditure for healthcare, an aging and more complex patient population, a shortage of physicians and other health care providers, and health outcomes disparities amongst population groups. This article emphasizes how these factors impact healthcare nationally and in Hawai'i. The second part of this series outlines approaches that can enhance health in the United States without creating economic collapse.

How much does emergency department use affect the cost of Medicaid programs?

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Use of the emergency department (ED) is often assumed to be an important component of health care expenditures for Medicaid enrollees. We seek to quantify the absolute and percentage of total Medicaid expenditures associated with outpatient ED visits. METHODS: This retrospective study used 2002 data from Oregon's Medicaid program. ED expenditures were defined to include hospital, physician, and ancillary services associated with any ED visit not resulting in an inpatient admission. We estimated average monthly ED expenditures in absolute values and as a percentage of total medical expenditures. Multivariate models were used to assess the effect of demographic factors and eligibility status on ED spending and use. RESULTS: We analyzed expenditures for 544,729 individuals enrolled in the Oregon Medicaid program in 2002. Monthly ED-associated expenditures averaged $12.63 (95% confidence interval $12.50 to $12.77) per member, representing 6.8% of total medical expenditures. Ancillary services (laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging) accounted for 35% of ED spending. Spending for ED services was skewed; 50% of all ED expenditures could be attributed to 3.0% of enrollees who made multiple ED visits. CONCLUSION: ED expenses are a relatively small percentage of total medical spending by Medicaid enrollees. An aggressive policy to cut ED expenditures by 25% would reduce Medicaid expenditures by less than 2% per year. Actual savings would be even smaller if reduced ED utilization were offset by increased spending at the primary care level. Because the majority of Medicaid patients do not use the ED in a given year, efforts to reduce ED expenditures may be best accomplished through targeting selected enrollees who have high ED expenditures, rather than attempting to decrease overall ED use.

Inpatient placement: associations with mortality, cost, and length of stay.

OBJECTIVES: Tertiary referral centers have created inpatient units to meet the needs of specific patient populations but sometimes are forced to place patients on other units that, although having the basic necessary skillsets for treating the patient, are not focused on that diagnosis area. The objective of this study was to look at outcomes of patients admitted to these different inpatient settings. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of patient data from a single tertiary academic medical center from August 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015, comparing patients admitted to primary versus secondary inpatient services. Patients admitted to the inpatient children's hospital, psychiatric hospital, labor and delivery unit, or subacute transitional care unit were excluded. METHODS: Demographics of patients in the primary versus secondary units were compared to look for systematic differences between the 2 patient populations. To control for confounding variables, a gamma regression analysis was conducted for length of stay (LOS) and total cost, whereas a logistic regression was conducted for mortality. RESULTS: Admitting to the primary unit resulted in 5.5% lower observed LOS, controlling for other patient variables, but it came at a 17.8% higher total cost of care provided compared with secondary units. Mortality was also found to be lower on primary units (odds ratio, 0.864) but did not cross the threshold of statistical significance (P = .101). CONCLUSIONS: Patients admitted to the primary unit had a lower LOS with higher costs of care. There was a trend toward improved mortality, although it was not statistically significant.

Postal survey methodology to assess patient satisfaction in a suburban emergency medical services system: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction is of growing importance to providers of emergency medical services (EMS). Prior reports of patient satisfaction have frequently used resource-intensive telephone follow-up to assess satisfaction. We determine the feasibility of using a single mailing, anonymous postal survey methodology for collecting patient satisfaction data from a suburban EMS system. METHODS: Patients transported between January 2001 and December 2004 were mailed a brief satisfaction questionnaire. The questionnaire was printed on a pre-addressed, postage paid postcard and consisted of five questions that used a five-point Likert scale to assess satisfaction with EMS personnel and services provided. Three open-ended questions assessed concerns, the most important service provided, and methods for improving service. Survey response rate was the primary outcome of interest. The Chi-square test was used to compare rates between years. RESULTS: The survey required about 6 man hours and cost about $70 per month. Overall response rate was 32.0% (857/2764; 95CI 30.3% - 33.9%). During the first year, response rate was 42.6% (95CI 38.5% - 46.8%), but was significantly lower in subsequent years (29.0% in year 2, 30.8% in year 3, and 27.6% in year 4, p < 0.05). There were 847/851 respondents (99.5%) who were satisfied or very satisfied with their EMS experience. Three patients felt the service was adequate and one was very unsatisfied. Open-ended questions suggested that interpersonal communications were the single most important contributor to patient satisfaction. Patients also reported that response times and technical aspects of care were important to them. CONCLUSION: Postal surveys for assessing patient satisfaction following EMS transport can achieve comparable response rates to similar surveys in other health care settings. Response rates did not decline after the second year of patient surveys, suggesting some stability after the initial year. Interpersonal communication was determined to be the single most important contributor to patient satisfaction.