The Annals of Emergency Medicine did a study earlier this year showing that much of the overcrowding is due to insured patients. JAMA recently re-iterated the findings. Newsweek interviews the lead author, who cites a lack of primary care access as a major culprit.
Politicians are focused on the uninsured, but it won’t help with ED congestion. If anything, it will make things worse:
Providing insurance to more people will help with overall health. It may help the currently uninsured find a primary care provider. But it is not going to help with ER overcrowding, because the primary care doctors are still going to be overbooked.
Related posts:
- USA Today op-ed: Poor physician access worsens emergency department crowding
- Massachusetts and emergency overcrowding
- Is the recession affecting emergency department volume?
- Poor primary care access drives up emergency department use
- Why kids are crowding the emergency department
- Unnecessary workup in the emergency department
- Should we screen for HIV in the emergency department?
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