Implementing a new patient navigator model of care within the emergency department for older adults in Ontario, Canada.

A Patient Navigator (PN) role was introduced in the Emergency Department (ED) in a large metropolitan hospital in Southern Ontario (Canada) to assist with care transitions. The purpose of this study was to describe the new PN program and type of services provided for older adults in the ED. Given th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Grace Liu, Amanda Knoepfli, Tracey DasGupta, Naomi Ziegler, Emma Elliot, Mahala English, Sander L Hitzig, Sara J T Guilcher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315641
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849313456971317248
author Grace Liu
Amanda Knoepfli
Tracey DasGupta
Naomi Ziegler
Emma Elliot
Mahala English
Sander L Hitzig
Sara J T Guilcher
author_facet Grace Liu
Amanda Knoepfli
Tracey DasGupta
Naomi Ziegler
Emma Elliot
Mahala English
Sander L Hitzig
Sara J T Guilcher
author_sort Grace Liu
collection DOAJ
description A Patient Navigator (PN) role was introduced in the Emergency Department (ED) in a large metropolitan hospital in Southern Ontario (Canada) to assist with care transitions. The purpose of this study was to describe the new PN program and type of services provided for older adults in the ED. Given the novelty of the program, it is critical to better understand how a PN ED model of care may help improve the discharge process and ED-community transitions for older adults. This retrospective observational cohort study includes data between November 2020 and October 2021. In this study, the clinical data collected by the PN were analyzed to describe the patient socio-demographics, types of services provided, and outcomes. The PN contacted 95% patients (n = 125) referred to the service in which the median age was 80 (SD = 9.0) consisting of mostly females (74%; n = 92). The PN provided consultations to 79 patients (≤7 days) and 46 patients were admitted to the PN's caseload. For the 46 admitted cases, the PN connected to 52% of the patients on the same day, facilitated 83% of the patients in returning home or supportive setting and provided follow-up care (i.e., phone calls or home visits) for 67 days (median) in the community. This study provides a preliminary depiction of the scope of practice of a PN within an ED setting, and important considerations for decision-makers and/or administrators interested in implementing a PN role in the ED.
format Article
id doaj-art-cf8f34f58cbf4a479b1eee4467d978ef
institution Kabale University
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-cf8f34f58cbf4a479b1eee4467d978ef2025-08-20T03:52:46ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01203e031564110.1371/journal.pone.0315641Implementing a new patient navigator model of care within the emergency department for older adults in Ontario, Canada.Grace LiuAmanda KnoepfliTracey DasGuptaNaomi ZieglerEmma ElliotMahala EnglishSander L HitzigSara J T GuilcherA Patient Navigator (PN) role was introduced in the Emergency Department (ED) in a large metropolitan hospital in Southern Ontario (Canada) to assist with care transitions. The purpose of this study was to describe the new PN program and type of services provided for older adults in the ED. Given the novelty of the program, it is critical to better understand how a PN ED model of care may help improve the discharge process and ED-community transitions for older adults. This retrospective observational cohort study includes data between November 2020 and October 2021. In this study, the clinical data collected by the PN were analyzed to describe the patient socio-demographics, types of services provided, and outcomes. The PN contacted 95% patients (n = 125) referred to the service in which the median age was 80 (SD = 9.0) consisting of mostly females (74%; n = 92). The PN provided consultations to 79 patients (≤7 days) and 46 patients were admitted to the PN's caseload. For the 46 admitted cases, the PN connected to 52% of the patients on the same day, facilitated 83% of the patients in returning home or supportive setting and provided follow-up care (i.e., phone calls or home visits) for 67 days (median) in the community. This study provides a preliminary depiction of the scope of practice of a PN within an ED setting, and important considerations for decision-makers and/or administrators interested in implementing a PN role in the ED.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315641
spellingShingle Grace Liu
Amanda Knoepfli
Tracey DasGupta
Naomi Ziegler
Emma Elliot
Mahala English
Sander L Hitzig
Sara J T Guilcher
Implementing a new patient navigator model of care within the emergency department for older adults in Ontario, Canada.
PLoS ONE
title Implementing a new patient navigator model of care within the emergency department for older adults in Ontario, Canada.
title_full Implementing a new patient navigator model of care within the emergency department for older adults in Ontario, Canada.
title_fullStr Implementing a new patient navigator model of care within the emergency department for older adults in Ontario, Canada.
title_full_unstemmed Implementing a new patient navigator model of care within the emergency department for older adults in Ontario, Canada.
title_short Implementing a new patient navigator model of care within the emergency department for older adults in Ontario, Canada.
title_sort implementing a new patient navigator model of care within the emergency department for older adults in ontario canada
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315641
work_keys_str_mv AT graceliu implementinganewpatientnavigatormodelofcarewithintheemergencydepartmentforolderadultsinontariocanada
AT amandaknoepfli implementinganewpatientnavigatormodelofcarewithintheemergencydepartmentforolderadultsinontariocanada
AT traceydasgupta implementinganewpatientnavigatormodelofcarewithintheemergencydepartmentforolderadultsinontariocanada
AT naomiziegler implementinganewpatientnavigatormodelofcarewithintheemergencydepartmentforolderadultsinontariocanada
AT emmaelliot implementinganewpatientnavigatormodelofcarewithintheemergencydepartmentforolderadultsinontariocanada
AT mahalaenglish implementinganewpatientnavigatormodelofcarewithintheemergencydepartmentforolderadultsinontariocanada
AT sanderlhitzig implementinganewpatientnavigatormodelofcarewithintheemergencydepartmentforolderadultsinontariocanada
AT sarajtguilcher implementinganewpatientnavigatormodelofcarewithintheemergencydepartmentforolderadultsinontariocanada