Predicting Frequent Emergency Department Use Among Patients with Epilepsy

Patients with 11 or more ED visits in a year are likely to continue to be heavy ED users.

Utilization of the emergency department (ED) for epileptic seizures is considered potentially avoidable (i.e., epilepsy is an “ambulatory sensitive condition”). To predict which patients with epilepsy will be heavy ED users, researchers retrospectively analyzed 2 years of data from a New York City health information exchange for roughly 8000 patients with epilepsy.

During the second year of the study, 1% of patients were heavy ED users (>11 visits), 5% were moderate users (4–10 visits), 19% were occasional users (1–3 visits), and 75% had no visits. In bivariate analyses, patients in the first year of the study who were males; aged 19–64 years; residents of Manhattan (the study hospitals were in that borough); frequent users of health service…

Reviewing Author

Jennifer L. Wiler, MD, MBA, FACEP

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesColorado Medical Society (Member, Board of Directors)

Jennifer L. Wiler, MD, MBA, FACEP

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesColorado Medical Society (Member, Board of Directors)

Predicting Frequent Emergency Department Use Among Patients with Epilepsy

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Reviewing Author