How do we support follow-up with the primary care provider after an emergency department visit for asthma?

摘要

Many investigators and clinicians have struggled to understand 2 related problems: (1) why urban children seek care in the emergency department (ED) for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions and (2) how to ensure follow-up for that visit with the medical home. Gaining insight into these patient health care-seeking behaviors will aid in the development of interventions to help design the health care system to improve health outcomes for children and reduce health care costs. In this issue of Pediatrics, the study conducted by Zorc et al highlights an attempt to implement an intervention that would be feasible to deliver in an ED setting and would increase the likelihood of follow-up with the primary care provider (PCP) for a group of urban children with asthma.