Table 2.
Comparison of ED resource use for inappropriate and avoidable visits
| Total (n=1276) | Potentially inappropriate (n=77) | Appropriate (n=1199) | P-value | Potentially avoidable (ACSC) (n=373) |
Non-avoidable (non-ACSC) (n=903) |
P-value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Med | IQR | Med | IQR | Med | IQR | Med | IQR | Med | IQR | |||
| ED resource use (TP) | ||||||||||||
| Total resources [TP] | 1327 | (715-1849) | 568 | (226-828) | 1403 | (795-1889) | <0.001 | 1317 | (895-1817) | 1334 | (606-1871) | 0.136 |
| Resource subgroups: | ||||||||||||
| Physician work [TP] | 506 | (297-668) | 391 | (155-518) | 506 | (314-681) | <0.001 | 519 | (359-678) | 506 | (265-666) | 0.189 |
| Nurse work [TP] | 87 | (35-93) | 35 | (0-58) | 93 | (35-93) | <0.001 | 93 | (58-112) | 64 | (35-93) | <0.001 |
| Laboratory resources [TP] | 251 | (92-390) | 81 | (0-181) | 267 | (117-408) | <0.001 | 334 | (203-528) | 214 | (62-351) | <0.001 |
| Radiology resources [TP] | 318 | (58-838) | 0 | (0-64) | 345 | (58-887) | <0.001 | 202 | (58-652) | 400 | (0-917) | 0.038 |
| ED resource use (time) | ||||||||||||
| Physician patient time [min] | 60 | (35-85) | 60 | (25-70) | 60 | (40-85) | 0.052 | 60 | (45-85) | 60 | (30-80) | 0.013 |
| Physician medical report time [min] | 20 | (11-20) | 20 | (11-20) | 20 | (11-20) | 0.056 | 20 | (11-22) | 20 | (11-20) | 0.009 |
| Physician admin time [min] | 55 | (30-80) | 35 | (15-50) | 60 | (30-80) | <0.001 | 60 | (35-80) | 55 | (25-75) | 0.030 |
| Administrative outcomes | ||||||||||||
| LOS hospital (days) | 2.1 | (0.2-6.7) | 0.2 | (0.1-0.2) | 2.8 | (0.2-6.8) | <0.001 | 5.0 | (0.9-8.9) | 1.1 | (0.2-5.1) | <0.001 |
| LOS ED (hour) | 5.0 | (3.2-7.1) | 3.8 | (2.5-6.0) | 5.0 | (3.3-7.2) | 0.008 | 5.4 | (4.0-7.4) | 4.7 | (2.9-7.0) | <0.001 |
|
Total ED costs per patient [Swiss Francs]* |
1515 | (785-2118) | 805 | (472-1133) | 1567 | (837-2161) | <0.001 | 1538 | (1021-2037) | 1502 | (674-2177) | 0.663 |
* 1 Swiss Franc ≈ 1.003 USD; The values are presented as median (interquartile range) if not declared otherwise
Abbreviations: ACSC Ambulatory-care Sensitive Condition, ED Emergency Department, IQR Interquartile Range, LOS Length of Stay, Med Median, TP Tax Points