BACKGROUND: To determine whether the length of time between alcohol-related attendance in the emergency department (ED) and follow-up appointment with an alcohol health worker (AHW) alters attendance rate at the AHW clinic. METHODS: We examined paper and computerized records made by AHWs over a 4-year period, collecting data on the length of time between identification of alcohol misuse and the appointment with the AHW, and whether the appointment was kept. RESULTS: There is an inverse relationship between the length of time between identification of alcohol misuse and AHW appointment and the subsequent likelihood of keeping that appointment. CONCLUSIONS: To maximise attendance rates at AHW clinics, the delay between the identification and intervention for alcohol misusing patients must be kept to a minimum, preferably giving an appointment on the same day as the attendance in the ED.
BACKGROUND: To determine whether the length of time between alcohol-related attendance in the emergency department (ED) and follow-up appointment with an alcohol health worker (AHW) alters attendance rate at the AHW clinic. METHODS: We examined paper and computerized records made by AHWs over a 4-year period, collecting data on the length of time between identification of alcohol misuse and the appointment with the AHW, and whether the appointment was kept. RESULTS: There is an inverse relationship between the length of time between identification of alcohol misuse and AHW appointment and the subsequent likelihood of keeping that appointment. CONCLUSIONS: To maximise attendance rates at AHW clinics, the delay between the identification and intervention for alcohol misusing patients must be kept to a minimum, preferably giving an appointment on the same day as the attendance in the ED.
Authors: Dennis M Donovan; Mary A Hatch-Maillette; Melissa M Phares; Ernest McGarry; K Michelle Peavy; Julie Taborsky Journal: J Subst Abuse Treat Date: 2014-11-05
Authors: Emese Csipke; Robin Touquet; Tim Patel; James Franklin; Adrian Brown; Paul Holloway; Nicola Batrick; Michael J Crawford Journal: Emerg Med J Date: 2007-08 Impact factor: 2.740
Authors: Eileen Kaner; Martin Bland; Paul Cassidy; Simon Coulton; Veronica Dale; Paolo Deluca; Eilish Gilvarry; Christine Godfrey; Nick Heather; Judy Myles; Dorothy Newbury-Birch; Adenekan Oyefeso; Steve Parrott; Katherine Perryman; Tom Phillips; Jonathan Shepherd; Colin Drummond Journal: BMJ Date: 2013-01-09