Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35488215›Full record

Observational studyBMC emergency medicine2022

Safety assessment of a redirection program using an electronic application for low-acuity patients visiting an emergency department.

Anne-Laure Feral-Pierssens, Judy Morris, Martin Marquis, Raoul Daoust, Alexis Cournoyer, Justine Lessard, Simon Berthelot, Alexandre Messier

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMC emergency medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Observational
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Observational
  7. Article
  8. Operational Impact of Redirection From the Pediatric Emergency Department: A Matched Cross-Sectional Study.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2025
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Observational
  11. Article
  12. Factors associated with hospital revisitation within 7 days among patients discharged at triage: a case-control study.European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine · 2025
    Observational
  13. Article
  14. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Anne-Laure Feral-PierssensHôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, CIUSSS-NIM, 5400 boulevard Gouin Ouest, Montréal, Québec, H4J 1C5, Canada. anne-laure.feral-pierssens@aphp.fr.ORCID 0000-0003-0461-5611
Judy MorrisHôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, CIUSSS-NIM, 5400 boulevard Gouin Ouest, Montréal, Québec, H4J 1C5, Canada.
Martin MarquisHôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, CIUSSS-NIM, 5400 boulevard Gouin Ouest, Montréal, Québec, H4J 1C5, Canada.
Raoul DaoustHôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, CIUSSS-NIM, 5400 boulevard Gouin Ouest, Montréal, Québec, H4J 1C5, Canada.
Alexis CournoyerHôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, CIUSSS-NIM, 5400 boulevard Gouin Ouest, Montréal, Québec, H4J 1C5, Canada.
Justine LessardHôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, CIUSSS-NIM, 5400 boulevard Gouin Ouest, Montréal, Québec, H4J 1C5, Canada.
Simon BerthelotDépartement de médecine familiale et de médecine d'urgence, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
Alexandre MessierHôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, CIUSSS-NIM, 5400 boulevard Gouin Ouest, Montréal, Québec, H4J 1C5, Canada.
Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal · CAHôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont · CAUniversité de Sherbrooke · CAUniversité Laval · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEmergency departments (EDs) are operating at or above capacity, which has negative consequences on patients in terms of quality of care and morbi-mortality. Redirection strategies for low-acuity ED patients to primary care practices are usually based on subjective eligibility criteria that sometimes necessitate formal medical assessment. Literature investigating the effect of those interventions is equivocal. The aim of the present study was to assess the safety of a redirection process using an electronic clinical support system used by the triage nurse without physician assessment.

methodsA single cohort observational study was performed in the ED of a level 1 academic trauma center. All low-acuity patients redirected to nearby clinics through a clinical decision support system (February-August 2017) were included. This system uses different sets of medical prerequisites to identify patients eligible to redirection. Data on safety and patient experience were collected through phone questionnaires on day 2 and 10 after ED visit. The primary endpoint was the rate of redirected patients returning to any ED for an unexpected visit within 48 h. Secondary endpoints were the incidence of 7-day return visit and satisfaction rates.

resultsA total of 980 redirected low-acuity patients were included over the period: 18 patients (2.8%) returned unexpectedly to an ED within 48 h and 31 patients (4.8%) within 7 days. No hospital admission or death were reported within 7 days following the first ED visit. Among redirected patients, 81% were satisfied with care provided by the clinic staff.

conclusionThe implementation of a specific electronic-guided decision support redirection protocol appeared to provide safe deferral to nearby clinics for redirected low-acuity patients. EDs are pivotal elements of the healthcare system pathway and redirection process could represent an interesting tool to improve the care to low-acuity patients.

Indexed as

Decision Support Systems, ClinicalEmergency Service, HospitalAmbulatory Care FacilitiesElectronicsHospitalizationHumansHealthcare UseLow-acuity patientsQuality of careRedirection

Identifiers

PMID35488215
PMCPMC9052637
OpenAlexW4225082675

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.