This year, LHP enhanced the measure in our Clinical Integration program to focus on avoidable emergency department (ED) visits rather than an overall rate of ED visits for our population. An avoidable ED visit is defined by a primary diagnosis from Oregon Health Authority’s code set.

Implementing systems and processes in primary care can help support patient care outside of the ED when appropriate, so we’ve developed a toolkit with helpful strategies and checklists. If you would like additional support in addressing avoidable ED visits, contact LegacyHealthPartners@lhs.org and our quality & improvement team can meet with you and recommend workflows tailored to your practice.