Patients who visited EDs bypassed an average of 13 that were closer to their homes. Those who visited closer EDs were no more likely to be experiencing a true medical emergency than those who traveled farther.

About half of ED visits were to centers not associated with the patient’s cancer care. That decision could lead to less personalized care recommendations and providers who may be less familiar with managing cancer- and treatment-related complications, which could affect outcomes, Dr. Hong said.


Future research should focus on why so many patients don't reach out for assistance from their clinicians to help them decide when emergency care is appropriate, he added. “Providers should take this as a signal to better address unmet patient needs,” Dr. Hong said.

UT Southwestern’s Simmons Cancer Center and Parkland Health have Acute Care clinics (Simmons Acute Care in the Cancer Care Outpatient Building and Parkland Oncology Acute Care), which provide urgent care services for patients with cancer and could help many patients avoid the ED while providing expert cancer support. The main way to access these clinics is to call a triage nurse, who can direct patients to the clinics. The research by Dr. Hong and his team should help spur additional efforts to ensure patients know about these available services.

Other UTSW researchers who contributed to this study include Amy Hughes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the O’Donnell School of Public Health, member of the Simmons Cancer Center, and a Texas Health Resources Clinical Scholar; D. Mark Courtney, M.D., M.S.C.I., Professor of Emergency Medicine; Hannah Fullington, M.P.H., Senior Quality Improvement Analyst; John Sweetenham, M.D., Adjunct Professor in the Simmons Cancer Center; Navid Sadeghi, M.D., Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and member of the Simmons Cancer Center; Song Zhang, Ph.D., Professor in the O’Donnell School of Public Health and member of the Simmons Cancer Center; and Angela Bazzell, D.N.P., APRN, FNP-BC, AOCNP, and Assistant Director of Advanced Practice Providers in the Simmons Cancer Center.

This study was funded by the Texas Health Resources Clinical Scholars Program, a National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant (1P30CA142543), and a Clinician Scientist Development Grant (CSDG-20-023-01-CPHPS) from the American Cancer Society.


About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty members have received six Nobel Prizes and include 26 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 20 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 3,100 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 120,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 5 million outpatient visits a year.

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