Test results pending at discharge among emergency department patients experiencing homelessness

Persons experiencing homelessness (PEH) are vulnerable emergency department (ED) patients due to high rates of multi-comorbidity and mortality, as well as a lack of follow up care. Communication of test results pending at discharge (TPAD) is an important area of post-ED follow up care. We examined phone access, successful contact, and change in treatment among PEH and non-PEH with TPAD from the ED.

We performed a retrospective cohort study and included all abnormal TPAD and patient telephone notes regarding TPAD over 7 months extracted from the electronic health record of a single, high-volume, urban, safety-net hospital in Denver, Colorado. Two investigators reviewed all data to determine phone access, successful contact, and recommended treatment change. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables and compared between PEH and non-PEH. We assessed associations between homelessness and successful contact and phone access while adjusting for age and sex using multivariable logistic regression.

A total of 940 patient encounters with TPAD were included. 142 telephone notes regarding abnormal TPAD were included, of which 33 (23 %) were to PEH. Compared to PEH, housed patients were significantly more likely to have access to a phone (+31 %, 95 % CI: 14-48 %), have an active phone (+46 %, 95 % CI: 29-64 %), and be successfully contacted (+42 %, 95 % CI: 24-60 %), but were less likely to have a recommended change in treatment (-14 %, 95 % CI: -24 to -5 %). Homelessness was significantly associated with decreased successful contact (odds ratio [OR] 0.16, 95 % CI: 0.07-0.38) and decreased phone access (OR 0.11, 95 % CI: 0.04-0.33) after adjusting for age and sex. In the subgroup of patients with phone access (n = 124), homelessness was significantly associated with decreased successful contact (OR 0.26, 95 % CI: 0.10-0.70) after adjusting for age and sex.

PEH are less likely to have phone access and be successfully contacted regarding TPAD, resulting in untreated or improperly treated infectious disease. Thus, EDs and hospital systems should explore innovative communication solutions, such as shared responsibility models and partnerships with shelters and healthcare for the homeless clinics to improve successful contact with PEH regarding TPAD.