@article {Reschen234, author = {Michael E Reschen and Jordan Bowen and Sudhir Singh and Mridula Rajwani and Matthew Giles and James Price and Daniel Lasserson and Christopher A O{\textquoteright}Callaghan}, title = {Process of care and activity in a clinically inclusive ambulatory emergency care unit: progressive effect over time on clinical outcomes and acute medical admissions}, volume = {7}, number = {3}, pages = {234--240}, year = {2020}, doi = {10.7861/fhj.2019-0062}, publisher = {Future Healthcare Journal}, abstract = {Clinically relevant outcomes for same-day emergency care provided by ambulatory emergency care units (AECs) are largely unknown. We report the activity and outcomes for a large UK adult AEC operating an ambulatory-care-by-default model without specific exclusion criteria.The AEC consultant triaged all acute medical referrals to either the AEC or the standard non-ambulatory {\textquoteleft}take{\textquoteright} pathway during AEC opening hours.The proportion of acute medical referrals seen in the AEC increased to 42\% (mean 700 referrals seen per month) in the last 6 months of the study and numbers seen in the non-ambulatory pathway fell. The most common diagnoses were for chest pain, pneumonia, cellulitis, heart failure and urinary system disorders. Seventy-four point eight per cent of patients completed their care in a single visit. In the last calendar year, the conversion rate from AEC to inpatient admission was 12\%, and the 30-day readmission rate was 6.9\% and 18\% for the AEC and non-ambulatory pathways, respectively. Across the whole study period, the 30-day mortality was 1.6\% and 6.9\% for the AEC and non-ambulatory pathway, respectively.This ambulatory approach is safe and effective.}, issn = {2514-6645}, URL = {https://www.rcpjournals.org/content/7/3/234}, eprint = {https://www.rcpjournals.org/content/7/3/234.full.pdf}, journal = {Future Healthcare Journal} }