Emergency Category
Emergency Department crowding not due to medical indigence.
From the New York Times published on May 6th 2008 comes a report that emergency departments (ED) are busy but fewer patients seen in the ED are uninsured. Data was collected from a study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine (AEM) and published on line on the 14th of April 2008. The AEM study specifically looked at a rise in ED use over an eight year period from 1996 through 2004 to see if the rise in ED use was associated with insurance status. Their conclusions showed that while there was a rise in ED usage nationally during the study period it could not be solely attributed to medical indigence.
States bribed by CMS to turn away Emergency Department Patients.
Bribing healthcare organizations to screen patients presenting to an emergency department is not the way to control healthcare costs. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is doing just that though. As part of a multi-million dollar incentive to the states it wants to divert patients with “non-emergency” medical problems away from local emergency departments and point them to other resources within the community. The goal is to decrease the cost associated with seeking care in that emergency department. This care is typically more expensive than care provided by clinics or a primary care provider.
Size does matter.
I feel somewhat compelled to pen a verse or two regarding the linked article in the New York Times today regarding the continued pandemic this country has with obesity. Most of what we see in the media these days regarding obesity are warnings about the hazards of over indulgence. Heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, loads of orthopedic problems color the pages of several health sections of any local paper.
Emergency Dept, Outpatient Clinic, and Primary Care Provider visits on the rise.
Ambulatory healthcare utilization continues to rise. Physician office, emergency department, and outpatient clinic visits are all increasing. Statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics show that there were 1.2 billion patient visits to primary care provider (PCP) offices, hospital outpatient clinics, and emergency departments (ED) in 2005 (a rate of 4 visits per person annually). Visit rates per population have all increased over the past decade and continue to do so.
