Executive Summary Primary care–related emergency department (PCR-ED) utilization, including for conditions that are preventable or treatable with appropriate primary care, is associated with decreased efficiency of and increased costs to the health system. Many PCR-ED users experience actual or perceived problems accessing appropriate, ongoing sources of medical care. Patient navigation, an intervention used most often in the cancer care continuum, may help to address these barriers among medically underserved populations, such as those who are low income, uninsured, publicly insured, or recent U.S. immigrants. We examined a patient navigation program designed to promote appropriate primary care utilization and prevent or reduce PCR-ED use at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, Texas. The intervention is facilitated by bilingual, state-certified community health workers (CHWs) who are trained in peer-to-peer counseling and connect medically underserved patients with medical homes and related support services. The CHWs provide education about the importance of primary care, assist with appointment scheduling, and follow up with patients to monitor and address additional barriers. Our study found that the patient navigation intervention was associated with decreased odds of returning to the ED among less frequent PCR-ED users. Among patients who returned to the ED for PCR reasons, the pre/post mean visits declined significantly over a 12-month pre/post-observation period but not over a 24-month period. The savings associated with reduced PCR-ED visits were greater than the cost to implement the navigation program. Our findings suggest that an ED-based patient navigation program led by CHWs should be further evaluated as a tool to help reduce PCR-ED visits among vulnerable populations.

Background An underlying assumption of strategies intended to promote appropriate primary care over emergency department (ED) use for ongoing health care needs is that patients will understand the “value proposition” of primary care: that they will receive specific benefits from primary care providers over and above what they receive from EDs. However, there is evidence that this value proposition may be unclear to safety-net patients. The goals of this study are to describe factors motivating ED use for low-acuity conditions; describe similarities and differences in usual source of care (USOC) experiences, by ED versus non-ED setting; and assess awareness and perceptions of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) concept among safety-net patients. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study of adult patients (n = 329) at 3 safety-net hospitals in the Southwest. Results Key reasons for ED use were perceived urgency, lack of awareness about other options for care, payment flexibility, and perceived quality and convenience. Approximately half of participants indicated they would seek treatment in non-ED settings, if available, but agreement differed by group (non-ED USOC, 60.2%; ED USOC, 50.7%; no USOC, 45.3%; P = .025). Agreement that providers coordinated access to needed medical services was significantly higher among patients with non-ED USOCs; agreement that providers coordinated non-medical services that facilitate access to care was similar (approximately 45%) for patients with ED and non-ED USOCs. Approximately 70% of participants in both groups agreed that every person should have a medical home. Conclusions Perceived experiences of care in ED and non-ED USOC settings suggest challenges and opportunities for increasing the value proposition of primary care for safety-net patients. Although patients are receptive to the PCMH concept, effective strategies to better highlight the value of primary care in coordinating both medical and related nonmedical services and other PCMH benefits warrant further investigation.

This report provides estimates of the 2012 unauthorized immigrant population and estimates of recent population trends in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia (see appendix for full data). It also estimates national and state-level shares of unauthorized immigrants in the overall population, foreign-born population and labor force, and the share of students in kindergarten through 12th grade with at least one unauthorized immigrant parent. The report also includes estimates of the birth countries and regions of unauthorized immigrants at the state and national levels. The estimates use the "residual method," a widely accepted and well-developed technique based on official government data.