Comparing patients who leave the ED prematurely, before vs after medical evaluation: a National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey analysis

Abstract

BackgroundMany patients leave the Emergency Department (ED) before beginning or completing medical evaluation. Some of these patients may be at higher medical risk depending on their timing of leaving the ED. ObjectivesTo compare patient, hospital, and visit characteristics of patients who leave before completing medical care to patients who leave before ED evaluation. MethodsRetrospective cross-sectional analysis of ED visits using the 2009-2011 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. ResultsA total of 100962 ED visits were documented in the 2009-2011 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, representing a weighted count of 402211907 total ED visits. 2646 (2.62%) resulted in a disposition of left without completing medical care. Of these visits, 1792 (67.7%) left before being seen by a medical provider versus 854 (32.3%) who left after medical provider evaluation but before a final disposition. Patients who left after being assessed by a medical provider were older, had higher acuity visits, were more likely to have visited an ED without nursing triage, arrived more often by ambulance, and were more likely to have private insurance than to be self-paying or to have other payment arrangements (e.g. worker's compensation or charity/no charge). ConclusionsWhen comparing all patients who left the ED before completion of care, those who left after versus before medical provider evaluation differed in their patient, hospital, and visit characteristics and may represent a high risk patient group.