Parkland operates one of the nation’s busiest emergency rooms and recognized part of what makes it so busy is repeat patients, or “high utilizers.” The system looked at zip code, gender, race, education, income and medical records data and found just three patients accounted for 500 emergency room visits at Parkland Hospital in one year.
It expanded this data set to include other health systems in Dallas County and found 80 patients accounted for 5,139 ER visits in one year. Additional research helped the team determine that the No. 1 reason patients visit is loneliness, with other factors like poverty and hunger also contributing, according to the report.
Now the system uses “intense case management,” led by teams of physicians, social workers, chaplains and others, to help high utilizers find companionship. The program has already helped some patients significantly reduce ER visits.
Read more about the intervention here.
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