Resource Utilization for Pediatric Patients Discharged After Interhospital Transfer.

Background: Transfers to a pediatric emergency department (ED) with subsequent discharge home should be optimized. Transfers to a pediatric ED (PED) from community and academic general EDs are compared with a focus upon subsequent resource utilization with the PED to identify patterns of resource and education needs within general EDs.

Methods: Patients younger than 21 years transferred to a PED from general EDs over a 1-year period and discharged home were retrospectively reviewed.