Utilization trends of an ophthalmology-specific emergency department: the Massachusetts Eye and Ear experience

To describe the utilization trends of a dedicated ophthalmology emergency department (ED) in Boston, Massachusetts.

The medical records of 500 randomly selected patients who presented at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear (MEE) Emergency Department (ED) from January 2015 to March 2016 were reviewed retrospectively. Data were analyzed using the Pearson χ2 test and multiple logistic regression. The primary study outcome measure was whether a patient's visit was emergent or nonemergent. Emergent or nonemergent conditions were classified based on the diagnosis and treatment required at follow-up appointments. Nonemergent diagnoses were classified as conditions that could have been seen as an outpatient without negative consequences for vision.

Of the 500 cases, 252 were males and 248 were females. The median age was 45 years (range, 2-101 years). The most common diagnoses were posterior vitreous detachment (8.6%), corneal abrasion (8.4%), dry eye syndrome (7%), and viral conjunctivitis (5.4%). Of the total, 92.6% of patients originated from within Massachusetts. The majority of patients were self-referred (78.6%) or referred from another hospital (12.8%). Nonemergent visits accounted for 49.4% of patients seen. Compared to patients who presented with duration of symptoms for ≥1 week, patients who presented with symptoms of <1 week were more likely to present with an emergent condition (8.8% vs 41.8%). Referrals from an outside ophthalmologist or hospital were predictive of emergent patient visits (OR, resp., 1.971 [95% CI, 0.478-3.462; P = 0.01]; 1.040 [95% CI, 0.462-1.616; P < 0.001]).

In our study, nonemergent patient visits comprised nearly half of all ophthalmology ED visits. Emergent visits were associated with acute symptoms and referrals from outside healthcare providers.