מתוך medicontext.co.il
WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) – Providing transportation vouchers and a telephone reminder help increase the rate of primary care follow-up in patients who receive emergency department asthma treatment, researchers report in the August issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Jill M. Baren and colleagues at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia note that national asthma guidelines recommend that patients see a primary care physician after making an emergency department visit.
To determine if a simple intervention might increase the likelihood of compliance, the researchers randomized 192 patients seeking emergency asthma treatment to a usual care or an intervention group. In addition to usual care, the intervention group received a 5-day course of prednisone, vouchers for transportation to their primary care provider, and a telephone call reminding them to make an appointment.
At the end of the study, Dr. Baren's group found that more patients in the intervention group (46.3%) than in the control group (28.9%) contacted their primary care provider within 4 weeks of their emergency treatment. This difference remained significant (odds ratio, 3.1) even after allowing for factors that enhance follow-up, such as access to a car.
In light of these findings, the researchers conclude that the impact of such improved primary follow-up on quality of life, disease management, and emergency department use "deserves further study."
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