From a 3-Month Wait to a High-Priority Appointment: How One ED Patient Was Navigated to Quick Specialist Follow-Up

The Challenge

A Medicaid patient arrived at the emergency department experiencing seizures. After evaluation and stabilization, she was discharged home with instructions to follow up with a neurologist. However, the earliest available appointment in the online scheduling portal was more than three months away.

For a patient experiencing new seizures, that delay meant living with uncertainty, without access to the specialist care needed to properly diagnose and manage their condition. Without intervention, the patient could have returned to the emergency department with worsening symptoms, or gone without the treatment needed to prevent future episodes.

What We Did

Care Continuity combed through discharge notes to identify this recent ED patient as a high-priority referral opportunity. An expert navigator worked directly with the patient’s PCP to initiate a referral and coordinate earlier appointment availability. By engaging the neurology office and facilitating scheduling, the team was able to expedite the appointment and ensure the patient received timely specialist evaluation.

The Impact

• Specialist appointment moved up by nearly three months
• Patient evaluated by neurology within four days of the ED visit
• The patient stayed out of the ED and followed her neurology care plan

Why It Matters

The patient’s family described being “over the moon” when the navigator reached out after a stressful ED visit and were relieved that their loved one could access care quickly. Moments like this underscore how timely coordination and navigation can ease uncertainty for patients and families during critical health events.