System-Wide Patterns of Costs and Service Use Among Frequent Emergency Department Users in the United Kingdom

Key Points

• This research examines cost patterns and service utilization among frequent emergency department users in the UK.
• Analyzed cost data from the urgent and emergency care network
• Identified service use by frequent emergency department users
• Proposed tailored interventions and coordination among care providers
• Frequent emergency department users incur disproportionately high healthcare costs
• Coordinated care could potentially reduce avoidable emergency department admissions
• Improving patient outcomes is possible through targeted interventions