Forging Outpatient Specialty Partnerships in Emergency and Trauma Services

By Amanda McClure, system vice president of Emergency and Trauma Institute, system transportation and regional referral center, Premier Health; and Jeremy Moore, MD, Emergency and Trauma Institute chair, Premier Health 

Premier Health’s emergency departments (EDs) play a critical role in evaluating patients and determining the best path forward, often extending beyond the hospital walls. Increasingly, safe and timely discharge with a clear outpatient plan is the best option for many patients. This is why the Emergency and Trauma service line has prioritized partnerships with various Premier Physician Network specialties to build rapid-access outpatient pathways that support high-quality, patient-centered care.

One example is our collaboration with the Clinical Neuroscience Institute (CNSI) to establish a system-wide follow-up clinic for patients with lower-risk transient ischemic attack (TIA). This initiative enables ED physicians to safely discharge eligible patients with an appointment at a CNSI clinic within 24 to 72 hours, thereby supporting early specialist evaluation and outpatient management.

This month, we launched a second pathway in partnership with Premier Cardiovascular Institute. This initiative supports patients presenting with chest pain and a moderate HEART score, who previously would have been admitted, by providing access to expedited outpatient stress testing and cardiology follow-up. This new process is now active at all Premier campuses and is helping to improve care coordination and reduce avoidable hospital admissions. The goal is to connect patients with the most appropriate services, in the right setting, and within best-practice timeframes.

As emergency departments across the country continue to face rising volumes and capacity constraints, initiatives like these are becoming increasingly important. They help preserve inpatient resources for those who need them most, while ensuring discharged patients receive high-quality, coordinated care that reduces risk and improves outcomes.

These partnerships also highlight the power of integration within Premier Health. By aligning emergency medicine with key specialty services, we are able to deliver efficient, safe, and value-based care across the continuum. Our goal is to expand this model and explore similar collaborations with additional service lines to further optimize care transitions from the emergency department.

Together, we are reimagining what it means to care for patients, not just during their ED visit, but well beyond it.

Back to the June 2025 issue of Premier Pulse