23% Increase in Emergency Department Over a Decade, but 15% of Visits Do Not Require Emergency Care

OPEN MINDS Weekly News Wire Strategic Health Care News Emergency department utilization increased by 23% from 1997 to 2007, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during a time when the U.S. population increased 11.2%. However, researchers from RAND Corporation estimate that up to a quarter of those visits may not have required emergency care. Medicaid patients accounted for a large proportion of the increase in emergency department utilization. Five percent fewer emergency departments are in operation since 1997, and more of those remaining have become safety net facilities with at least 30% of . . .