Does Counseling Reduce Frequent Emergency Department Use?

Abstract

Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a persistent problem. The Care Connection Program (CCP) is designed to educate frequent users on how to better use existing community services as alternatives to the ED. An evaluation of the CCP interventions for 157 frequent users of the Emergency Department at the University of California, Davis Health System found that patients enrolled in the program for over a year visited the ED fewer times per year than before enrollment; resulting in fewer overnight stays and less total resource cost to the host hospital. Expected savings is estimated to be nearly $9 million per year.

Keywords: Health Economics, Emergency Department Use, Benefit/Cost

JEL Classification: I12