Tag:

Emergency Department Visits

Latest Headlines

Latest Headlines

High-deductible plans increase bad debt, hospitals say

The growing popularity of high-deductible insurance plans is leaving more hospitals stuck with unpaid bills,  Kaiser Health News  reported.  

Medical homes for the homeless can curb ED use

Hospitals are looking at providing homeless and uninsured patients services such as mobile medical homes to reduce their use of expensive emergency department care.

ED visits after hospitalization: New quality measure?

Improving care transitions shouldn't only focus on readmissions but also emergency department visits, according to a study in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Medical home cuts ER visits with 400% return

The preliminary results showed the Colorado Multipayer Patient-Centered Medical Home Pilot led to a whopping 250 percent to 400 percent return on investment for one payer.

Education diverts patients to less-costly ER alternatives

Giving patients guidance, even as simply as giving them directions to the nearest emergency department alternative, can redirect nonurgent patients away from the hospital ED, according to research from HealthCore, WellPoint's health outcomes research firm.

Reducing admissions from the ED saves more than diverting nonurgent visits

Hospitals and health systems have been trying to curb non-urgent visits to the emergency department; however, researchers say that approach will save far fewer healthcare dollars than reducing hospital admissions for patients already in the ED.

Avoid ED visits with doc phone calls, coordination

Spectrum Health System in Michigan has been seeing success from new initiatives aimed at emergency department "frequent fliers," who had more than 20,000 total visits and cost at least $40 million

BCBS saves $232M, cuts readmissions with patient registries

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has helped decrease patient mortality rates, hospital readmissions, emergency department visits and surgery complications--plus saved $232 million in health...

Medicaid patients with PCP barriers flock to ED--more coming soon

Medicaid patients face more nonfinancial barriers to timely primary care than those with private insurance, which in turn make them more likely to visit the emergency department, according to a study

Trend: Hospitals pre-screen, divert ER patients to cut visits

With research showing that up to 20 percent of emergency department visits could be diverted to less-expensive healthcare sites, hospitals are making sure patients that come through the ED really