A Retrospective Study of Disparities in an Academic Ophthalmic Emergency Department

Purpose Emergency medicine is a common access point to health care; disparities in this care by demographic characteristics, including race and ethnicity, may affect outcomes. The Massachusetts Eye and Ear (MEE) Emergency Department (ED) is a subspecialty emergency department; data from this site can be utilized to better understand social determinants of quality ophthalmic care. Design This is a retrospective cross sectional cohort study in the MEE ED examining patient visits from June 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019. Methods Using the electronic medical record system, all unique visits were identified between June 1, 2016 and June 30, 2019 (inclusive); patient demographics (sex, race, ethnicity [Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic], primary care provider [PCP] status, insurance type, zip code, primary language), date of visit, triage category and outcomes (final diagnosis, visit duration, and next visit at MEE within 3 months of the ED visit) were collected. Kaplan-Meier plots were used to visualize likelihood of follow-up visit to MEE for urgent patients based on demographics. Multivariate linear regression was used to examine factors affecting visit durations, as stratified by urgency, and Cox proportional hazards regression was used to establish hazard ratios for next visit to MEE. Results Of the 46,248 ophthalmology ED initial visits, only triage status, season of visit, out-of-state residency, Medicare coverage, and Medicaid coverage led to statistically significant differences in visit durations for urgent visits compared with the respective reference groups. Similar trends persisted within the non-urgent visit cohort for visit durations. Residency, insurance coverage, season of visit, race, PCP status, and sex were identified as statistically significant predictors of the likelihood of a follow-up visit. Conclusion Data from an ophthalmic emergency department suggest that demographic factors do impact patient visit duration and time to follow-up visit. These findings suggest a continued need for attention to social determinants of health and equitable care of patients within ophthalmology.