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Kathy Kliebert
Secretary, Louisiana DHH
plans, physicians, and pharmacists. Taking
inspiration from other successful examples
of reducing improper ER use, the group is
modeling much of the state of Washington’s
proven “ER is for Emergencies” initiative. The
workgroup is making progress towards sev-
eral components of the initiative including:
establishing an ED visit registry, conduct-
ing a coordinated care campaign, issuing ED
prescribing recommendations to discourage
narcotic seeking behavior. and promoting the
use of a prescription monitoring program.
This is a multi-tiered issue that requires
a variety of solutions. Our efforts must
focus on not only reducing ED vis-
its, but also improving access care
and patient education. Patient
education on what qualifies as
an emergency is paramount. In
many cases, we may have dif-
ferent ideas as to what quali-
fies as a true medical emergency.
Another aspect of our solution lies
within improving access to community
and primary care. Effective use of primary
care can prevent the progression of many
illnesses to the point that they become seri-
ous or life threatening, eliminating the need
for an emergency room visit. Most doctors’
offices operate in normal business hours. We
see emergency rooms have an influx of pa-
tients in non-business hours, likely because
primary care is not available. Changes are
necessary at every level of our healthcare
system to make a real impact on this issue.
While we can take measures to encourage
proper ED usage, the ultimate solution lies
with the health care choices that consum-
ers make. It is up to us to provide the public
with the information that they need to make
informed choices about where to seek care.
From there, as consumers, it is up to all of us
to use this information to make the proper
choices for our healthcare.
n
often than the privately insured. These find-
ings lead many to believe that Medicaid ben-
eficiaries caused the majority of the misuse
of emergency rooms. The privately insured
also contribute to this issue. A 2013 national
study by Truven HealthAnalytics determined
that 76 percent of ED visits by commercially
insured patients are not emergencies, or that
their visits could have been prevented with
effective and timely outpatient care.
The repercussions of improper ED use
reach much farther than just Louisiana.
Hospitals around the world are struggling
to cut down on high improper ED use rates to
preserve the quali-
ty of their emer-
gency care. Here at
home, our Department
is striving tomake a differ-
ence on this issue. With the help
of stakeholders frommany perspectives, we
are taking a comprehensive and collabora-
tive approach towards finding solutions.
In April, the Department established an
emergency department use workgroup.
This workgroup is comprised of represen-
tatives and viewpoints across the healthcare
industry, bringing together hospitals, health
Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS
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NOV / DEC 2014
57
“Our efforts must focus on not
only reducing ED visits, but
also improving access care and
patient education.”