Back to Evidence & Resource Library

Coordination program reduced acute care use and increased primary care visits among frequent emergency care users

R. Capp, G.J. Misky, R.C. Lindrooth, B. Honigman, H. Logan, R. Hardy, D.Q. Nguyen, J L. Wiler
Health Affairs

Many high utilizers of the emergency department (ED) have public insurance, especially through Medicaid. We evaluated how participation in Bridges to Care (B2C)-an ED-initiated, multidisciplinary, community-based program-affected subsequent ED use, hospital admissions, and primary care use among publicly insured or Medicaid-eligible high ED utilizers. During the six months after the B2C intervention was completed, participants had significantly fewer ED visits (a reduction of 27.9 percent) and significantly more primary care visits (an increase of 114.0 percent), compared to patients in the control group. In a subanalysis of patients with mental health comorbidities, we found that recipients of B2C services had significantly fewer ED visits (a reduction of 29.7 percent) and hospitalizations (30.0 percent), and significantly more primary care visits (an increase of 123.2 percent), again compared to patients in the control group. The B2C program reduced acute care use and increased the number of primary care visits among high ED utilizers, including those with mental health comorbidities.

This article is included in the PCORI Social Needs Interventions to Improve Health Outcomes Evidence Map. Click here to access evidence map.

Capp R, Misky GJ, Lindrooth RC, et al. Coordination program reduced acute care use and increased primary care visits among frequent emergency care users. Health Aff (Millwood). 2017;36(10):1705-1711. PMID: 28971914. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0612.

View the Resource
Publication year
Resource type
Peer Reviewed Research
Outcomes
Utilization
Population
Complex Patients
Medicaid-insured
Social Determinant of Health
Not Specified
Study design
Pre-post with Comparison Group
Keywords