Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast launches emergency room ‘concierge’ program

Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has launched a new ‘concierge’ program at its hospital emergency room to help patients who need follow-up care. When an emergency room patient needs more specialized care after the ER visit, the concierge can help them get their appointments scheduled. 
The concierge can also help patients manage their care team and coordinate their health records, including sending records electronically to specialists at the patient’s request.
“It’s important that our patients who need follow-up care after an emergency room visit actually get it. Unfortunately, patients can face many external barriers to receiving this care,” said emergency room physician Dr. John "JP" Hill. “We want to do everything we can to make the process of receiving follow-up care as convenient as possible to help ensure patients get all of the care they need, when and where they need it.” 
The ER concierge can also set up appointment reminders for patients and even work with them to get transportation scheduled if needed. 
“While increasing access to care often looks like building new facilities or adding services, it can also mean evolving and strengthening existing services to ensure they’re as helpful and convenient as possible for the patients and families we serve,” said Ascension Florida and Gulf Coast President & CEO Don King. “Our emergency room concierge program is a great example of this important work. We want to help our patients get the follow-up care that they need.”
The emergency room concierge program is available at no additional cost to all hospital-based ER patients whose doctor determines they need follow-up care. 
To find your nearest Ascension Sacred Heart emergency room, visit www.ascension.org/getsacredheartcare.