• Jesse J Sturm, Daniel Hirsh, Brad Weselman, and Harold K Simon.
• Connecticut Children's Medical Center, West Hartford, CT, USA University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA jesse.sturm@gmail.com.
• Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2014 Sep 1;53(10):988-94.

ObjectiveIntervention to reduce nonurgent pediatric emergency department (PED) visits over a 12-month follow-up.MethodsProspective, randomized, controlled trial enrolled children seen in the PED for nonurgent concerns. Intervention subjects received a structured session/handout specific to their primary care provider (PCP), which outlined ways to obtain medical advice. Visitation to the PED and PCP were followed over 12 months.ResultsA total of 164 patients were assigned to the intervention and 168 patients to the control. At 12-month follow-up, the intervention group had a lower rate of nonurgent PED utilization compared with the control group (70 [43%] patients in the intervention compared with 91 [54%] in the control; P = .047). At 12 months, there was an increase in the rate of sick visits to PCP in the intervention group when compared with the control (P = .036).ConclusionsIntervention designed in cooperation with pediatricians was able to decrease nonurgent PED utilization and redirect patients to their PCP for future sick visits over a 12-month period.© The Author(s) 2014.

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