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Comparing Care Delivery Efficiency Between Emergency Department and Oncology Urgent Care
Arthur S Hong1,2, Sadaf Charania2,3,4, Angela Bazzell2,3
1Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
The Permanente Journal
|June 26, 2025
Summary
Oncology urgent care clinics (UCCs) are more efficient than emergency departments (EDs) for nonemergent cancer care. UCCs discharged patients home more often, reduced length of stay, and decreased advanced imaging use.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Health Services Research
- Emergency Medicine
Background:
- Adult cancer patients frequently use emergency departments (EDs) for treatment complications.
- Oncology urgent care clinics (UCCs) offer an alternative for nonemergent issues, but their comparative effectiveness is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficiency and outcomes of care for nonemergent oncology issues managed at UCCs versus EDs.
- To analyze patient disposition, length of stay, and advanced imaging utilization.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of university hospital ED and UCC visits from January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2023.
- Emergency Severity Index (ESI) coding for UCC visits to match ED data; coarsened exact matching and multivariate models were employed.
- Outcomes including discharge rates, length of stay, and advanced imaging use were compared, stratified by ESI level.
Main Results:
- Matched analysis included 1033 UCC visits and 2782 ED visits.
- For ESI level 2, UCCs discharged patients home more often (+32.0%), had shorter stays (-7.0 hours), and used advanced imaging less (-30.3%) compared to EDs.
- Similar efficiency gains were observed for ESI level 3 visits.
Conclusions:
- Oncology urgent care clinics effectively manage a significant severity level of nonemergent cancer care.
- UCCs demonstrate greater efficiency compared to EDs for these patient encounters.
- Further research is recommended to investigate broader care delivery aspects, including cost-effectiveness.
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