TOPLINE:

A nurse practitioner-led rapid-access clinic for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at high risk for acute care use reduced both emergency department visits and hospitalization rates. The initiative demonstrated that proactive ambulatory management of these patients can improve outcomes and reduce costs by shifting care from acute to outpatient settings.

METHODOLOGY:

• IBD ranks among the top five most expensive gastrointestinal conditions, with acute episodes significantly increasing healthcare costs and patient burden.
• Researchers conducted a quality improvement project at a tertiary IBD center, implementing a nurse practitioner-led rapid-access clinic to provide timely, specialized outpatient care to patients at high risk for acute care utilization and to prevent hospitalizations and emergency department visits.
• Analyses included 144 rapid-access clinic visits completed with 134 unique patients (mean age, 48.8 years) over a 12-week period; the target population included those with recent hospitalizations, steroid use, or nonadherence to therapy.
• Data collection utilized standardized surveys to gather data on emergency department visits and hospitalizations for 3 months before and after the implementation of this program.

TAKEAWAY:

• Implementing the rapid-access clinic reduced the hospitalization rate from 13.6% to 9.8% and emergency department visits from 15.5% to 9.7% during the study period.
• Based on the outcomes, stakeholders decided to maintain the rapid-access clinic as a sustainable care model.

IN PRACTICE:

“Patients can expect timely appointments and coordinated care, with nurse practitioners as key contacts for urgent issues. This approach may reduce the need for hospital stays, lower healthcare costs, and improve overall disease management,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was presented by Donna Ortiz, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, of AdventHealth Orlando in Orlando, Florida, at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting, Phoenix, on October 28, 2025.

LIMITATIONS:

Even though the study showed reductions in hospitalization and emergency department utilization rates, the authors noted that these changes were not statistically significant.

DISCLOSURES:

Some authors disclosed serving as advisors, review panel members, consultants, or participants in speakers bureaus for many pharmaceutical companies.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.