Emergency Rooms Are Getting Busier

(August 11, 2010) - It's getting busier in the nation's emergency rooms. (Read about "Emergency Room") Over ten years, the rates of visits to emergency departments in the U.S. increased significantly, particularly among adults with Medicaid, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The researchers found that between 1997 and 2007, total annual visits to U.S. emergency departments (EDs) increased from an estimated 94.9 million to an estimated 116.8 million, an increase of 23.1 percent, with this increase being almost double what would be expected from population growth during this period. Emergency department visit rates increased from 352.8 to 390.5 per 1,000 persons between 1997 and 2007. Although the number of ED visits increased, the number of EDs available to the U.S. population decreased by 5 percent during this period. Factoring in the growth in the U.S. population, visits by the 18- to 44-year-old and 45- to 64-year-old populations accounted for the greatest increase in ED visits.

Emergency department visit rates among adults with Medicaid increased significantly between 1999 and 2007, from 693.9 to 947.2 visits per 1,000 enrollees. Adults with private insurance and Medicare, as well as the uninsured, showed no significant change in ED visit rates. Among adults with Medicaid, the ED visit rate for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions per 1,000 enrollees increased from 66.4 in 1999 to 83.9 in 2007.

The researchers also found that from 1997 to 2007, median (midpoint) ED wait times to see a physician increased from 22 minutes to 33 minutes.

Emergency departments (EDs) are unique providers for health care in the United States because services are provided to all persons regardless of insurance or ability to pay.