Back to Search Start Over

Access to primary care and computed tomography use in the emergency department

Access to primary care and computed tomography use in the emergency department

Authors :
M. Fernanda Bellolio
Nilay Shah
Erik P. Hess
Lindsey R. Sangaralingham
Daniel Cabrera
Ronna L. Campbell
Shawna D. Bellew
Molly M. Jeffery
Source :
BMC Health Services Research, Vol 18, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2018), BMC Health Services Research
Publication Year :
2018
Publisher :
BMC, 2018.

Abstract

Background The decision to obtain a computed tomography CT scan in the emergency department (ED) is complex, including a consideration of the risk posed by the test itself weighed against the importance of obtaining the result. In patients with limited access to primary care follow up the consequences of not making a diagnosis may be greater than for patients with ready access to primary care, impacting diagnostic reasoning. We set out to determine if there is an association between CT utilization in the ED and patient access to primary care. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study of all ED visits in which a CT scan was obtained between 2003 and 2012 at an academic, tertiary-care center. Data were abstracted from the electronic medical record and administrative databases and included type of CT obtained, demographics, comorbidities, and access to a local primary care provider (PCP). CT utilization rates were determined per 1000 patients. Results A total of 595,895 ED visits, including 98,001 visits in which a CT was obtained (16.4%) were included. Patients with an assigned PCP accounted for 55% of all visits. Overall, CT use per 1000 ED visits increased from 142.0 in 2003 to 169.2 in 2012 (p

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
14726963
Volume :
18
Issue :
1
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
BMC Health Services Research
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....ca2c0a2322886aba63799552c9f1a9ea
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-2958-4