Low-Resource Emergency Department Visits for Children With Complex Chronic Conditions

Reducing emergency department (ED) use in children with complex chronic conditions (CCC) is a national health system priority. Emergency department visits with minimal clinical intervention may be the most avoidable. This study from HIP Investigator Dr. Ryan Coller assessed characteristics associated with experiencing such a low-resource ED visit among children with a CCC.

A retrospective study of 271,806 ED visits between 2014 and 2017 among patients with a CCC in the Pediatric Health Information System database was performed. Sixteen percent of ED visits among children with CCCs were low-resource. Infant age, living close to the ED, and day/evening-time visits were associated with the greatest likelihood of experiencing a low-resource ED visit in children with CCCs.

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