PURPOSE: This research is to validate the significance of early approach program (EAP) of the Medical Social Workers (MSW) for the patients with social high risks (SHR) in an Emergency Medical Center (the Center), and to clarify the characteristics of those patients.
METHODS: We compared two groups; One is the group of patients who were admitted to the Center while EAP was running and the other was the group of patients who were not involved in EAP (both groups were in six month period). In addition, we compared the characteristics of SHR in the Center with the patients in other departments in the same period.
RESULTS: The number of MSW consultations for patients in EAP period has increased three times compared to the period when the program was not running. And there was a significant difference in the actual number of days from admission to MSW consultation (
P=0.01). There was a tendency to decrease hospital stay days for the patients in EAP, but it was not statistically significant (15 vs 22 days,
P=0.053).We found five SHR characteristics of the patients in the Center comparing to other departments;those were accidents, victims of solitudes and no relatives, mental illness, victims of domestic violence and abuses and suicide attempts.
CONCLUSIONS: Early approach program of MSW in a Japanese emergency medical center may be effective for decreasing the hospital stay days.
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