Serving the Homeless in the Emergency Department Setting

The field of emergency medicine (EM) is situated at the intersection of medicine and society and are tasked with serving the many needs of the public. One example is serving individuals facing homelessness. Patients in this category account for a disproportionate number of visits and expenditures in the emergency departments (ED) and the health care system. Additionally, these patients have higher rates of morbidity and mortality than non-homeless persons, likely due to the effects of underlying social determinants of health. A recent literature review showed that there were no evidence-based guidelines or curriculum to aid ED providers who care for these patients. This project aimed to fill this gap by better understanding how to treat patients experiencing homelessness and developing guidelines to be used by other EDs nationally.