A Quality Improvement Project to Increase Utilization of an Urgent Care Clinic for Cancer.

Background: Nationally, patients with cancer experience high numbers of emergency department (ED) visits. Many ED visits may be prevented using cancer-specific urgent care services.

Objectives: The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to first assess the reasons that adult patients with cancer used the ED instead of an urgent care clinic for cancer (UCC-C). Second, an education program was developed and implemented to improve UCC-C use.

Methods: Using semistructured interviews pre- and postintervention (education program about ED/UCC-C use), this project described knowledge of adult patients with cancer about using the ED instead of the UCC-C. The project also evaluated the efficacy of the education intervention.

Findings: Pre- to postimplementation change showed an increase in patient UCC-C knowledge, patients who said they would present to the UCC-C, and patients who presented to the UCC-C for treatment. In addition, there was a decrease in adult patients with cancer who presented to the ED and were subsequently hospitalized.