Boston hospital study finds ED care coordination program led to 15% drop in costs

Researchers examining frequent ED users at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital suggest ED-based care coordination can help hospitals reduce ED use, hospitalizations and costs for frequent ED users. The study offered usual care to half of the patients, while the other half participated in a pilot program that included a community health worker and an ED-based clinical team that helped coordinate care, determine patients' unmet social needs and create interdisciplinary acute care plans. After seven months, the study found:

• Patients in the program had 35% fewer ED visits and 31% fewer ED hospitalizations compared with their counterparts;
• Average ED direct costs per patient were 15% lower compared with patients not in the program; and
• Average inpatient direct costs per patient were 8% lower for patients in the program.