Reducing Avoidable ED Spend Through Smarter Member Education

Ongoing member education that steers individuals toward primary care and urgent care remains a smart strategy, especially as medical technology continues to advance. Care that once required higher-acuity settings can now be delivered safely and effectively in lower-cost, more convenient locations. Urinary tract infections are a common driver of avoidable emergency department utilization, despite there being little clinical justification for ED care in most UTI cases. Waiting in the emergency department for a UTI is a poor use of both time and healthcare dollars. Helping members understand that higher-level facilities do not always provide the most appropriate care is critical. Well-designed benefits can reinforce this message by emphasizing convenience and cost. New diagnostic innovations further strengthen this approach, including rapid UTI testing that can identify the most effective antibiotic up to 24 hours faster than traditional methods, supporting timely treatment in non-emergency settings and reducing unnecessary ED use (Sabersky-Müssigbrodt et al., 2025).

Sabersky-Müssigbrodt, H., Russell, S., Wantia, N., & Hayden, O. (2025). Rapid direct disk diffusion testing for antibiotic resistance in urinary tract infections: A bacterial concentration-adjusted approach. Microbiology Spectrum, 13, e00888-25. https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00888-25