Potentially preventable use of emergency services: The role of low health literacy

Medical Care

Volumn 51, Issue 8, 2013, Pages 654-658

  Schumacher, Jessica R ^a   Hall, Allyson G ^b   Davis, Terry C ^c,d   Arnold, Connie L ^c   Bennett, Robert D ^e   Wolf, Michael S ^f   Carden, Donna L ^e  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA   (United States)

^c LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER   (United States)

^d Louisiana State University School of Medicine Shreveport   (United States)

^e Department of Clinical and Health Psychology   (United States)

^f NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

access to care; emergency department; health literacy; primary care

Indexed keywords

ADULT; AGED; AMBULATORY CARE; ARTICLE; CONTROLLED STUDY; EMERGENCY CARE; EMERGENCY HEALTH SERVICE; EMPLOYMENT STATUS; FEMALE; HEALTH CARE ACCESS; HEALTH CARE UTILIZATION; HEALTH INSURANCE; HEALTH LITERACY; HEALTH STATUS; HOSPITAL ADMISSION; HOSPITALIZATION; HUMAN; LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS; MAJOR CLINICAL STUDY; MALE; MEDICAL INFORMATION; PHYSICIAN; PRIMARY MEDICAL CARE; PRIORITY JOURNAL; STRUCTURED INTERVIEW;

ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTERS; ADOLESCENT; ADULT; AGED; AGED, 80 AND OVER; EMERGENCY SERVICE, HOSPITAL; FEMALE; HEALTH KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, PRACTICE; HEALTH LITERACY; HEALTH SERVICES ACCESSIBILITY; HUMANS; MALE; MIDDLE AGED; OFFICE VISITS; PRIMARY HEALTH CARE; UNITED STATES;

EID: 84880739275     PISSN: 00257079     EISSN: 15371948     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e3182992c5a     Document Type: Article

References (32)

1. Pitts SR, Carrier ER, Rich EC, et al. Where Americans get acute care: increasingly, it's not at their doctor's office. Health Aff (Millwood). 2010;29:1620-1629.
2. Garcia TC, Bernstein AB, Bush MA. Emergency department visitors and visits: who used the emergency room in 2007? NCHS Data Brief No. 38. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2010.
3. Baker DW, Parker RM, Williams MV, et al. The relationship of patient reading ability to self-reported health and use of health services. Am J Public Health. 1997;87:1027-1030.
4. Rust G, Ye J, Baltrus P, et al. Practical barriers to timely primary care access: impact on adult use of emergency department services. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:1705-1710.
5. Gill JM, Mainous AG III. The role of provider continuity in preventing hospitalizations. Arch Fam Med. 1998;7:352-357.
6. Gill JM, Mainous Iii AG, Nsereko M. The effect of continuity of care on emergency department use. Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:333-338.
7. Sin DD, Bell NR, Svenson LW, et al. The impact of follow-up physician visits on emergency readmissions for patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a population-based study. Am J Med. 2002;112:120-125.
8. Lee DS, Stukel TA, Austin PC, et al. Improved outcomes with early collaborative care of ambulatory heart failure patients discharged from the emergency department. Circulation. 2010;122:1806-1814.
9. Vieth TL, Rhodes KV. Nonprice barriers to ambulatory care after an emergency department visit. Ann Emerg Med. 2008;51:607-613.
10. Sarver JH, Cydulka RK, Baker DW. Usual source of care and nonurgent emergency department use. Acad Emerg Med. 2002;9:916-923.
11. Nielson-Bohlman LPA, Kindig DA. Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2004.
12. Kellermann AL, Weinick RM. Emergency departments, Medicaid costs, and access to primary care-understanding the link. N Engl J Med. 2012;366:2141-2143.
13. Davis TC, Long SW, Jackson RH, et al. Rapid estimate of adult literacy in medicine: a shortened screening instrument. Fam Med. 1993;25: 256-260.
14. Davis TC, Kennen EM, Gazmararian JA, et al. Literacy testing in health care research. In: Schwartzberg JG, VanGeest JB, Wang CC, eds. Understanding Health Literacy: Implications for Medicine and Public Health. Chicago, IL: American Medical Association; 2005.
15. Parker RM, Baker DW, Williams MV, et al. The test of functional health literacy in adults: a new instrument for measuring patients' literacy skills. J Gen Intern Med. 1995;10:537-541.
16. Andersen RM. Revisiting the behavioral model and access to medical care: does it matter. J Health Soc Behav. 1995;36:1-10.
17. McCarthy ML, Zeger SL, Ding R, et al. Crowding delays treatment and lengthens emergency department length of stay, even among high-acuity patients. Ann Emerg Med. 2009;54:492-503. e494.
18. Marshall GN, Morales LS, Elliott M, et al. Confirmatory factor analysis of the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Study (CAHPS) 1.0 Core Survey. Psychol Assess. 2001;13:216-229.
19. US Department of Health and Human Services. Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. Developing a CAHPS Clinican and Group Survey to Measure the Medical Home. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2010.
20. US Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. AHPS Survey Tools to Advance Patient-Centered Care. 2011. Availaible at: https://www.cahps.ahrq.gov/. Accessed January 27, 2012.
21. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, US Department of Health and Human Services. AHRQ Quality Indicators-Guide to Prevention Quality Indicators: Hospital Admission for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions. Revision 3.0a. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2006.
22. Ragin DF, Hwang U, Cydulka RK, et al. Reasons for using the emergency department: results of the EMPATH study. Acad Emerg Med. 2005;12:1158-1166.
23. StataCorp LP. Stata Statistical Software: Release 10 [Computer Program]. Version 10. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP; 2007.
24. Institute of Medicine. In: Millman M, ed. Access to Health Care in America. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1993.
25. DeLia D, Cantor JC, Brownlee S, et al. Patient preference for emergency care: can and should it be changed? Med Care Res Rev. 2012;69:277-293.
26. Siegel B, Regenstein M, Shin P. Health reform and the safety net: big opportunities: major risks. J Law Med Ethics. 2004;32:426-432.
27. Murray M, Berwick DM. Advanced access: reducing waiting and delays in primary care. JAMA. 2003;289:1035-1040.
28. Baren JM, Boudreaux ED, Brenner BE, et al. Randomized controlled trial of emergency department interventions to improve primary care follow-up for patients with acute asthma. Chest. 2006;129:257-265.
29. Baranowki T. Methodologic issues in self-report of health behavior. J Sch Health. 1985;55:179-182.
30. Mitchell TA. Nonurgent emergency department visits-whose definition? Ann Emerg Med. 1994;24:961-963.
31. Falkenberg K. One great idea for reducing health care costs: keep nonemergencies out of the ER. Forbes. November 18, 2011.
32. Galewitz P. More hospitals charge upfront fees for non-urgent care in emergency rooms. The Washington Post. February 17, 2012.