The American journal of emergency medicine
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Although emergency department (ED) discharge is often based on the presumption of continued care, the reported compliance rate with follow-up appointments is low. ⋯ Among ED patients who lack a PCP and are given a clinic appointment from the ED, less than half keep the appointment. Moreover, clinicians are unable to predict which patients will follow up. This study highlights the difficulty in maintaining continuity of care in populations who are self-pay or have Medicaid and lack regular providers. This may have implications on discharge planning from the ED.
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Fatal drug-related poisoning has been well described. However, death data only show the tip of the iceberg of drug-related poisoning as a public health problem. Using the 2007 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, this study described the characteristics of emergency department visits for drug-related poisoning in the United States. ⋯ Antidepressants and analgesics were responsible for nearly 44% of ED visits for drug-related poisoning in the United States. Interventions and future research should target prescription opioids, rural areas, children 0 to 5 years old for unintentional drug-related poisoning, and female ages 12 to 24 years for suicidal drug-related poisoning.
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This study determined the proportion of incident colorectal and lung cancers with a diagnosis associated with an emergency department (ED) visit. The characteristics of these patients and the correlation between diagnosis near an ED visit and stage at diagnosis were also examined. ⋯ An examination of patients' patterns of care leading to a cancer diagnosis in association with an ED visit lends insight to conditions precipitating a more immediate diagnosis and their associated outcomes.
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This study aims to determine if a prehospital case management intervention reduces transport and nontransport emergency medical system (EMS) responses to frequent EMS users. ⋯ Prehospital case management may reduce EMS use in high-frequency EMS users and create significant cost savings to municipalities and the health care system. Additional large-scale studies are needed to validate these findings.
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Surges in patient volumes compromise emergency departments' (EDs') ability to deliver care, as shown by the recent H1N1 influenza (flu) epidemic. Media reports are important in informing the public about health threats, but the effects of media-induced anxiety on ED volumes are unclear. ⋯ At a time of heightened public concern regarding flu but little disease prevalence, EDs experienced substantial increases in patient volumes. These increases were significant and comparable to the increases experienced during the subsequent epidemic of actual disease.