In 2012, St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids launched an Emergency Department Consistent Care Program with a $50,000 grant from Transamerica.

The goal was to identify patients who had visited the hospital’s emergency room 12 or more times within a 12-month period and give them alternatives to costly emergent care. A total of 103 patients initially qualified for the program, which helps connect patients with primary care providers and coordinate patient visits with doctors, home care and mental health care.

After one year on the program, that group — which logged a combined 1,679 visits to the emergency room in 2011 — reduced their total combined visits to 537.

The program’s success has made it a permanent fixture at the hospital. And the growing problem of frequent fliers to emergency rooms nationwide has other Eastern Iowa facilities considering similar measures.

Read the story linked above for more details. What do you think of the program overall? Is it a good idea for patients who visit emergency rooms frequently?