Quality Programs
Reducing Emergency Room Visits and Hospital Readmissions
August 7, 2025
Emergency room (ER) over utilization occurs when patients seek care at the ER for conditions that can be managed in other settings, like primary care offices or urgent care clinics. This results in ER overcrowding, long wait times, and fragmented care, which can negatively affect a patient’s quality of life.
Primary care providers play a crucial role in preventing unnecessary ER visits and hospital readmissions by acting as a central point of contact for all healthcare needs and care coordination.
Provider best practices include:
- Improved access to care
- Reserve appointments for urgent needs and follow-up care
- Use telemedicine when appropriate for convenient, virtual consultations
- Offer extended and weekend hours to accommodate patient schedules
- Patient education
- Instructions on how to communicate with the care team for same-day and after-hours medical advice
- Instructions on how to seek care when the primary care office is closed
- Give patients with an action plan for health condition monitoring and intervention
- Evidence-based practices for care transitions
- Connect with patients after ER or hospital discharge and review the discharge summary
- Ensure patients understand their medical conditions, red flags, and what to do
- Ensure patients understand their medications
- Ensure timely follow-up appointments
Premera provides tools to help support patients and primary care providers, including:
- Patient education about ER, urgent, or virtual care options
- Free access to Healthwise for patient education and shared decision-making support
- Free access to a 24-hour NurseLine (located on the back of the Premera ID card)
- Find a Doctor tool on the Premera website for closest urgent care locations
- Urgent virtual care 24/7
- Care management services ranging from care coordination for patients with complex medical conditions to assistance with hospital discharge planning
- For providers with access to Premera’s OneView Population Health tool: ADT and Readmissions Report to identify patients who may require transitions of care
Together, we can make a difference in improving patient outcomes by reducing avoidable ER visits and hospital readmissions.