Abstract
Research has extensively documented that a small number of Emergency Department (ED) patients make disproportionate use of emergency services (Okin et al., 2000). The term “Frequent Users” is used to describe patients who utilize ED services more than four times per year (Byrne et al., 2003). Frequent Users are often times patients with chronic medical, mental health, alcohol and drug problems, as well as other psychosocial issues (Fulde & Duffy, 2006). Homeless people also appear to have significantly higher ED rates than the general population (Pope et al., 2000). Immanuel St. Joseph’s-Mayo Health System (ISJ) ED appears to have many patients that may be categorized as a frequent user—in fact 442 patients in 2008 met this criteria. These 442 patients (2.4% of the total number of patients seen) accounted for approximately 11.8% of the total number of visits in 2008.
Research Question: How can ISJ effectively identify frequent users of the ED? What programs/strategies can be implemented to assist these patients in receiving more effective care?
Advisor
Annelies Hagemeister
Date of Degree
2009
Language
english
Document Type
Other Capstone Project
Degree
Master of Social Work (MSW)
Department
Social Work
College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Olson, T. A. (2009). Frequent Users of the Emergency Department: A Policy Proposal [Master’s capstone project, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/465/
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Rights Statement
