The Greater Augusta Healthcare Network Forum found that hospitals in Augusta, Ga., are finding better ways of transferring patients from the emergency department to community clinics, reports The Augusta Chronicle.
GAHN has been gathering data on two Augusta hospitals, University Hospital and Augusta University Medical Center, as well as numerous community clinics since 2007.
Between 2014 and 2015, the number of patients discharged from the EDs of University Hospital and AUMC decreased from 51,178 to 41,138. The number of patients who visited Augusta community clinics increased from 3,755 in 2007 to 16,366 in 2015.
Lucy Marion, PhD, RN, dean of Augusta University College of Nursing and executive director of GAHN, said these changes in numbers will reduce the tension and strain put on EDs.
However, GAHN also claimed the city and the state of Georgia need to find better ways of covering the uninsured, the homeless and veterans, according to the report.