Journal of patient-centered research and reviews
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J Patient Cent Res Rev · Jan 2020
ReviewDefining and Characterizing Frequent Attenders: Systematic Literature Review and Recommendations.
To decrease cost and improve efficiency, health care organizations have focused on frequent attenders - patients with high health care utilization. Prior studies have investigated singular health care settings, used varying definitions of frequent attendance, and inconsistently identified factors correlated with frequent attendance. The purpose of this article is to suggest a uniform definition of frequent attenders for different health care settings and to determine factors correlated with frequent attendance. ⋯ We propose definitions of frequent attenders for three common health care settings: primary care, emergency room, and inpatient. Future studies should include mental health and chronic disease, among other factors, when studying this population. Adoption of these recommendations will allow comparisons across studies such that meta-analyses may better determine interventions for more appropriate health care utilization.