Improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of publicly financed health care
Emergency Department Use and Its Relationship to Ambulatory Care: Translating Study Findings into Policy and Practice
OVERVIEW
Medicaid enrollment continues to be identified as a risk factor for greater emergency department use. This raises a number of policy concerns. Emergency department visits are substantially more expensive than primary care visits, creating a financial burden for Medicaid programs. In addition, high emergency department use rates could indicate that children enrolled in Medicaid managed care programs still face barriers to primary care and are therefore turning to emergency departments. To better understand the issue of emergency department use and its relationship to ambulatory care, CHCS funded Brown University to examine emergency department use patterns for Medicaid and commercially insured children enrolled in the same managed care organization.
ABOUT THE EXPERTS
Patrick Vivier, MD, PhD; Christopher Koller, MPPM, MAR; and Tricia Leddy, MS, RD
Presentation
This CHCS webinar Conference featured Patrick Vivier, MD, PhD, associate professor of community health and pediatrics at Brown University/Brown Medical School and lead researcher on this study; Christopher Koller, MPPM, MAR, health insurance commissioner, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; and Tricia Leddy, MS, RD, administrator of the Center for Child and Family Health in the Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Dr. Vivier presented findings from the research, and its practice and policy implications were discussed by Mr. Koller and Ms. Leddy.