Operationalizing Frequent Emergency Department Use: A Systemic Perspective

ECU Author/Contributor (non-ECU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Jessica M. Goodman (Creator)

Institution

East Carolina University (ECU )

Web Site: http://www.ecu.edu/lib/

Abstract: Frequent emergency department (ED) use has been the topic of much conversation , research , and debate in recent years as the healthcare sector in the U.S. makes the transition from volume- to value-based care. Although there are systemic factors associated with frequent ED use , this phenomenon is operationalized in research and media solely by the number of visits a patient makes to the ED. This linear , unidimensional way of framing the problem leads to interventions and policies that focus on reducing the number of ED visits , while ignoring value-based measures of care such as health outcomes or whether patients are receiving appropriate kinds of care. This dissertation includes six chapters , comprising (a) an introduction to the dissertation , (b) a literature review examining the way in which frequent ED use is defined , and informs research , interventions , media , and policy , (c) a systematic review of research that defines frequent ED use , (d) a chapter outlining the methodology for the empirical research study , (e) an empirical research study using machine learning algorithms to develop ED patient cohorts or clusters based on systemic data , and finally (f) a policy brief in which recommendations are made based on the empirical findings of the original research from this dissertation.

Additional Information

Publication

Dissertation

Language: English

Date: 2019

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