Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Changes in low-acuity patient volume in an emergency department after launching a walk-in clinic.
Kurian, Divya; Sundaram, Vandana; Naidich, Anna Graber; Shah, Shreya A; Ramberger, Daniel; Khan, Saud; Ravi, Shashank; Patel, Sunny; Ribeira, Ryan; Brown, Ian; Wagner, Alexei; Gharahbhagian, Laleh; Miller, Kate; Shen, Sam; Yiadom, Maame Yaa A B.
Afiliação
  • Kurian D; Department of Emergency Medicine Stanford University Palo Alto California USA.
  • Sundaram V; Quantitative Sciences Unit Stanford University Palo Alto California USA.
  • Naidich AG; Quantitative Sciences Unit Stanford University Palo Alto California USA.
  • Shah SA; Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford University Palo Alto California USA.
  • Ramberger D; Stanford Health Care Palo Alto California USA.
  • Khan S; Stanford Health Care Palo Alto California USA.
  • Ravi S; Department of Emergency Medicine Stanford University Palo Alto California USA.
  • Patel S; Department of Emergency Medicine New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medicine New York New York USA.
  • Ribeira R; Department of Emergency Medicine Stanford University Palo Alto California USA.
  • Brown I; Department of Emergency Medicine Stanford University Palo Alto California USA.
  • Wagner A; Department of Emergency Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USA.
  • Gharahbhagian L; Department of Emergency Medicine Stanford University Palo Alto California USA.
  • Miller K; Quantitative Sciences Unit Stanford University Palo Alto California USA.
  • Shen S; Department of Emergency Medicine Stanford University Palo Alto California USA.
  • Yiadom MYAB; Department of Emergency Medicine Stanford University Palo Alto California USA.
J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open ; 4(4): e13011, 2023 Aug.
Article em En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37484497
ABSTRACT

Objective:

Unscheduled low-acuity care options are on the rise and are often expected to reduce emergency department (ED) visits. We opened an ED-staffed walk-in clinic (WIC) as an alternative care location for low-acuity patients at a time when ED visits exceeded facility capacity and the impending flu season was anticipated to increase visits further, and we assessed whether low-acuity ED patient visits decreased after opening the WIC.

Methods:

In this retrospective cohort study, we compared patient and clinical visit characteristics of the ED and WIC patients and conducted interrupted time-series analyses to quantify the impact of the WIC on low-acuity ED patient visit volume and the trend.

Results:

There were 27,211 low-acuity ED visits (22.7% of total ED visits), and 7,058 patients seen in the WIC from February 26, 2018, to November 17, 2019. Low-acuity patient visits in the ED reduced significantly immediately after the WIC opened (P = 0.01). In the subsequent months, however, patient volume trended back to pre-WIC volumes such that there was no significant impact at 6, 9, or 12 months (P = 0.07). Had WIC patients been seen in the main ED, low-acuity volume would have been 27% of the total volume rather than the 22.7% that was observed.

Conclusion:

The WIC did not result in a sustained reduction in low-acuity patients in the main ED. However, it enabled emergency staff to see low-acuity patients in a lower resource setting during times when ED capacity was limited.
Palavras-chave

Texto completo: 1 Base de dados: MEDLINE Tipo de estudo: Observational_studies Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2023 Tipo de documento: Article

Texto completo: 1 Base de dados: MEDLINE Tipo de estudo: Observational_studies Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2023 Tipo de documento: Article