Case Management for Frequent Users of the Emergency Department

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a specific case management intervention for frequent users (FU) of Emergency Department (ED). Compared to infrequent or non-users, most of the ED-FU visitors are identified as vulnerable patients because they are more likely to be of low social and economical status, be more isolated and live alone. They report more chronic medical conditions, have a higher mortality rate and consume more healthcare resources. In the literature, interventions aimed at improving the management of ED-FU have demonstrated several positive outcomes, but there are still some knowledge gaps. The proposed project tests the hypotheses that case management intervention as compared with standard emergency care * is a more efficient use of healthcare resources and reduces ED attendance, * is cost-saving and * improves quality of life, * altogether leading to favorable cost-utility ratio.