A coalition of primary and specialty care providers in the St. Louis area is teaming up with IBM to develop computer technology that will direct patients who use the emergency department for routine services to a primary care provider. The St. Louis Business Journal reports that several local hospitals and care agencies that are part of the St. Louis Integrated Health Network have contributed $625,000 for the first two phases of the program. Total cost of the three-phase program is expected to reach between $4 million and $5 million.
The program is expected to produce substantial savings. According to the St. Louis Regional Health Commission, the average cost of a primary care office visit is $120, compared with $560 for an ED visit. IHN research indicates that 37% of local emergency visits are for primary care or nonemergency services. Referral coordinators already are in some St. Louis EDs to help patients find primary care doctors. The electronic triage system “can make patient data available in real time to ensure care is appropriate, tests are not being duplicated and doctors are aware of a patient’s conditions and medications,” Brooke Sehy, chief of staff for the St. Louis Regional Health Commission, told the Journal. Implementation of the computer technology is expected to begin in March.
