Published 12 hours ago,
Reading 2 mins.
in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
It’s a simple solution, yet very effective. According to a new American study, calling patients two days after their visit to the emergency room would greatly reduce the rate of return to hospital.
In France, nearly 123.9 million days of hospitalization were recorded in 2019. In this context – marked by the current hospital crisis and the increase in chronic pathologies – scientists have sought to reduce the round trips of patients to emergencies.
The post-hospitalization call unclogs the emergency room
To do this, they observed 8,110 patients in an emergency department for nearly 10 weeks, from June 25 to August 30, 2018.
The participants were divided into two groups:
- The first automatically received a phone call two days after leaving the hospital;
- The second received no calls.
The primary endpoint of the study was a return to the emergency room on the seventh day. All patients also had to complete a questionnaire after 14 days.
During these tests, the researchers found that a simple call to patients after two days (after their discharge) was associated with a decrease in the use of the emergency department.
A good initiative, according to Dr. Kierzek:
“Firstly, this call makes it possible to carry out diagnostic conformity (review of x-rays, etc.). Then, this simple phone call makes it possible to give therapeutic advice to the patient and to ensure that his evolution is normal. The problem ? We don’t have time to make this call. It would be necessary to invest in human resources and that a person be entirely dedicated to this task”.
Due to a lack of resources and organization, the overcrowding of emergency services in France continues to increase. A reality that compromises the missions of the staff and the quality of care.
When to be hospitalized?
The decision to hospitalize a patient is mainly based on the latter’s state of health: the reason for going to the emergency room, the seriousness associated with the diagnosis, the presence of pathologies, advancing age, etc.
In this context, everyone must go to the emergency room when one or more of the following criteria are present:
- A deterioration of the clinical state (which threatens the vital or functional prognosis of the person). Thus, any sudden and intense pain requires calling the emergency services (significant bleeding, persistent pain in the chest or left arm, partial and sudden paralysis, significant burning, presence of a foreign body impossible to remove, etc.);
- The impossibility of carrying out the necessary additional examinations on an outpatient basis;
- When the cessation of treatment requires multi-daily medical supervision;
- When care at the place of residence is not possible.
The dangerousness of the patient for himself or his entourage – in particular in the event of confusion that is difficult for relatives to manage or prevents a complete examination – is another criterion for hospitalization.