SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Characteristics of Patients Experiencing Homelessness at an Urban Academic Hospital

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This study examined characteristics and utilization patterns of homeless patients at an urban academic hospital in Washington, DC by matching hospital records to the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). The goal was to better identify homeless patients and describe their demographics, diagnoses, insurance status, admitting teams, and short-term return visits.<br /><br />HMIS contained 5,025 entries. About half had no match in the electronic medical record, while 2,523 matched hospital patients. Of those, 702 had at least one ED visit or admission, and 586 ED visits and 188 admissions met inclusion criteria for review.<br /><br />Key demographic findings showed that homeless patients in the hospital were mostly middle-aged African American men. Compared with homeless people in HMIS who were not patients, hospital patients were older, more likely to be female, more likely to be African American, and less likely to be Hispanic.<br /><br />Insurance patterns differed by encounter type: admitted patients were more likely to have Medicaid, while ED visits without admission were more common among uninsured patients. Among admitted homeless patients, more than half were cared for by Internal Medicine or Psychiatry teams.<br /><br />The most common ED diagnosis was acute ingestion or drug abuse/overdose, while the most common admission diagnosis was psychiatric disease. Readmission rates after admission were relatively low, but repeat ED use was common: nearly 28% of patients had at least one ED revisit within 30 days, and about 14% had two or more. For admissions, 10.11% had at least one readmission within 30 days.<br /><br />The authors conclude that HMIS can help identify homeless patients more accurately and that these findings may guide hospital resource allocation and interventions to reduce repeat ED use.

Asset Subtitle

Hanna Haile

Meta Tag

Author List Aditya Maddali, Catherine H. McDowell, Hanna Haile, Jillian S. Catalanotti, Kartik S. Patel, Mario A. Pita, Matthew A. Tovar, Megan Phan, Nathan Errampalli, Richard L. Amdur

Category Research

Concept Homelessness

Concept Homeless Management Information System

Concept Hospital EMR

Concept 30-Day ED Revisits

Concept Readmission

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Presenting Author Hanna Haile

Track Other

Keywords

homeless patients

HMIS

urban academic hospital

Washington DC

emergency department

psychiatric disease

drug overdose

Medicaid

readmission rates

repeat ED visits

Homelessness

Homeless Management Information System

Hospital EMR

30-Day ED Revisits

Readmission