Unique Info: Myths>Facts?
Most emergency patients have health insurance, and the vast majority of them have serious medical problems that are best treated in the emergency department. Emergency care represents less than 3 percent of the nation’s $2.1 trillion in health care expenditures while treating 120 million people a year. The reasons emergency departments are crowded are complicated, but emergency physicians are dedicated to improving everyone’s access to emergency care. Everyone is only one step away from a medical emergency. Myth: Emergency departments are crowded because people abuse the system by seeking care for minor problems.
Fact: Less than 8 percent of emergency patients are classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as non-urgent, meaning they need to be seen in 2 to 24 hours, which also does not mean these visits are “unnecessary.” The CDC’s definition of “non-urgent” includes serious conditions, such as bone fractures and bronchitis. These patients wait the longest for care. A 2006 Annals of Emergency Medicine study (Schull) showed that reducing the number of low-complexity patients would do little to reduce emergency department delays for sicker patients, and hence do little to reduce crowding.
Myth: Emergency department crowding could be eliminated by sending people to urgent care centers and health clinics.
Fact: The vast majority of people seeking emergency care need to be there, and as the population ages, the need for emergency care will increase. Despite the proliferation of urgent care centers, the number of people seeking emergency care grows every year.
http://www.acep.org/Legislation-and-Advocacy/Practice-Management-Issues/Access-to-Emergency-Care/Myths-and-Facts-About-Emergency-Care/