ER: Humana CEO provides Five-point plan for easing ER use

It is compulsory for providers and health plans to educate patients about where to seek care for non-acute medical problems, to neglect overusing emergency rooms and decrease costs, wrote Bruce Broussard, CEO of Humana.

Several individuals with chronic conditions go to the ER for medications or other services instead of their primary care physician, hampering the ability of ER physicians to tend to life-threatening conditions, Broussard notes.
ER use is not merely expensive— the cost of an ER visit jumped 10.5 percent to about $1,863 previous year, in accordance to the Health Care Cost Institute — it is also less transparent, with test results rarely passed along to the patient’s PCP, Broussard claims. A five-point plan for curbing ER use has been provided by Broussard.
Broussard wrote, “Hospitals and health policies spend way too many resources debating what was categorized as an admission and whether it should have been classified as an observation. Provided the fact that 71 percent of ER visits could have been neglected, more emphasis must be place on and resources devoted to alternatives that can stops ERs from being overloaded.”
Broussard suggested the following points to ease the burden on ERs and rein in increasing costs:

• Permit PCPs to be more proactive in coordinating care among the specialists.
• Make better adherence to medications, involving information about overdose and negative drug reactions.
• See that sufferers get specialist care before a complication arises that could land them in the emergency room.
• Boost technologies like telehealth and predictive analytics that expand access and target patients in need of care.
• Educate customers on when to visit the ER versus an urgent care facility.

Shawn Borich, a regional director with ECI Healthcare Partners says, “Due to its lower charges and convenience, telehealth has the capacity to siphon off patients from both ERs and urgent cares. But urgent cares also offer savings, at 10 percent to 20 percent the cost of an ER for the same complaint.”
The Health Care Service Organization inaugurated a “Where You Go For Care Matters” campaign on January 2015 targeted at getting its members talking about suitable ER use. The campaign provides information and suggestions where to get appropriate care for normal medical cases ranging from minor cuts to broken bones to heart attacks. It also gives worthy information about patient wait times and costs.