BRIEF REPORT: Factors affecting outpatient follow-up compliance of emergency department patients.
BACKGROUND
Emergency department (ED) patients often fail to follow-up with referrals to outpatient clinics and physicians.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the effects of 2 ED discharge instructional methods on outpatient follow-up compliance and to evaluate sociodemographic characteristics as possible factors affecting outpatient follow-up compliance.


METHODS
Randomized trial of ED patients. At discharge, the intervention group had their follow-up appointment made and the standard group was given our hospital's referral service phone number to make their own follow-up appointment.


METHODS
Outpatient clinics were called 1 month after each subject's ED discharge to ascertain if they followed-up. Poisson regression was used to examine the effects of sociodemographic factors on follow-up compliance.


RESULTS
Of 287 eligible subjects, 250 (87%) agreed to participate. Follow-up rates were 59% for the intervention group and 37% for the standard group (P<.001). Having a primary care physicians appeared to increase ED patients' outpatient follow-up compliance and having Medicaid insurance appeared to decrease outpatient follow-up compliance, but neither of these findings was statistically significant.


CONCLUSIONS
In our ED, patients who have their outpatient follow-up appointment made at discharge have a significantly greater probability of follow-up compliance compared with patients given standard discharge instructions. Most sociodemographic characteristics do not affect our ED patients' follow-up compliance.
Kyriacou
Demetrios N
DN
Department of Emergency Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill, USA. dkyriacou@aol.com
Handel
Dan
D
Stein
Adam C
AC
Nelson
Regina R
RR
D004630:Emergencies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D016896:Treatment Outcome