Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center has developed a nurse navigator program to address patients who frequently present at the emergency department for non-emergent issues.
As part of the nurse navigator program, Avera McKennan's Meditech EHR alerts providers when a program participant presents at the emergency department. Multiple providers can access the patient's records and established care management plan to review complaints and discuss potential interventions. These patients have a 68 percent follow-up compliance rate.
Since implementing this program, Avera McKennan has seen a 78 percent decrease in emergency department visits by program participants and a 13.7 percent reduction in non-emergent emergency department visits.