Articles: emergency-services.
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Potentially avoidable emergency department use by patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities.
One-third of patients discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) are sent back to the Emergency Department (ED) within 30 days. Little is known about those patients who are discharged from the ED directly back to SNF. ⋯ The most common reasons for these ED visits were mechanical falls (17.3%), postoperative problems (16.8%), and cardiac or pulmonary complaints (11.4%). Future interventions to decrease avoidable ED visits from SNFs should aim to provide access for SNF patients to receive timely outpatient lab and imaging services and postoperative follow-ups.
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This study aimed to estimate the direct healthcare cost burden of acute chest pain attendances presenting to ambulance in Victoria, Australia, and to identify key cost drivers especially among low-risk patients. ⋯ Total annual costs for acute chest pain presentations are increasing, and a significant proportion of the cost burden relates to low-risk patients and non-specific pain. These data highlight the need to improve the cost-efficiency of chest pain care pathways.