Quality Field Notes: ED Overuse

Quality Field Notes features key lessons learned by regional alliances of clinicians, patients, and payers in Aligning Forces for Quality communities as they work to transform local health care and provide models for national reform. The first topic in this series focuses on reducing inappropriate emergency department use. Seventy percent of visits to emergency department (ED) are not true emergencies or could be prevented with effective and timely outpatient care.

Three case studies highlight lessons learned from three Aligning Forces for Quality communities:

In Albuquerque, the New Mexico Coalition for Healthcare Quality launched a campaign to educate patients about whether medical situations warrant a visit to an emergency department or an outpatient care facility.

In Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality is leading an ED Care Coordination Initiative to connect high-risk patients in Milwaukee County with medical homes so they can receive timely, well-coordinated primary care.

In Detroit, the Greater Detroit Area Health Council leads a program in primary care practices to decrease ED use for primary care-treatable conditions.

Available materials include a resource guide, case studies from AF4Q, webinar recording, and guide for primary care.