Long Island Jewish Medical Center Emergency Department
New Hyde Park, New York
Long Island Jewish Medical Center’s ED serves a diverse patient population with patients who often have difficulties with transition of care. Knowing that patients are more likely to follow up
Long Island Jewish Medical Center Emergency Department
and adhere to recommendations when a follow-up appointment is made during their ED visit, the department created the ED Discharge Center at the facility, where coordination of care would occur for patients who are being discharged from the ED. The program has resulted in identifiable and sustained improvement in patient care and services provided.
In 2022, close to 8,000 referrals were scheduled for patients, which represented 9 percent of the patients. Providers and nurses were re- educated on identifying patients needing follow-up care and they implemented alerts to the EDDC team that a care appointment is needed. The EDDC partnered with specific specialties to create direct channels of communication with their scheduling teams and leadership to increase turnaround times for scheduling appointments. In 2023 the discharge center team successfully provided referrals for more than 11,500 treat-and-release ED patients, which represented 18 percent of the patients. This exceeded the team’s goal of 15 percent and improved transitions of care for patients who are being discharged from the ED in a timely manner.