What they did next: Using follow-up phone calls to investigate health care access patterns of patients who take their own leave

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to use telephone follow-up (TFU) to investigate the actions taken by patients after they took their own leave (TOL) from an ED, with a focus on priority groups who are at risk of experiencing health inequity. These included people experiencing homelessness (EH), people with a low socioeconomic status by index of relative socioeconomic disadvantage (IRSD) and First Nations people. The primary outcome was being seen by a general practitioner (GP) within 2 days of the TOL event. The utility of the TFU was also examined.

Methods: This was an observational study of data collected during a quality improvement intervention at an inner-city, tertiary, teaching hospital in Melbourne from January to December 2022. Descriptive results were obtained from a TFU survey that was administered 24-48 h after the TOL event.

Results: During the study period, 4209 patients TOL from the ED. Eight hundred forty-one of these were contacted and consented to the TFU survey. 97.7% of patients expressed gratitude at being followed up. Patients EH, compared to patients not EH, were less likely to have seen their GP within 2 days of TOL event (0.295 [0.132-0.661], P < 0.001). Both First Nations patients and those from low IRSD areas were as likely to have seen their GP within 2 days as other groups.

Conclusion: Patients EH were less likely to receive GP care within 2 days of TOL. Improving the access and acceptability of health care in these priority groups is important for achieving health equity.