The Effects of Case Management on Frequent Emergency Department Users

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the negative effects of emergency department frequent users and to introduce a utilization approach called case management, in order to help alleviate the growing costs of uncompensated physician care and emergency department overcrowding. The research is supported by case studies, personal interviews with case managers of Cape Fear Valley Health Systems, Southeastern Health, WakeMed, and various other hospitals in the state of North Carolina, as well as scholarly studies provided on the Internet. The results indicate that hospitals throughout North Carolina are facing emergency department frequent user issues and that case management is an effective method to curb costs.