EDs Are Seeing More Elderly Patients, Repeat Users

Because they found that the poor and uninsured are not the "main contributing factors for ED crowding," researchers suggested that future health policies that look to improve ED access for the poor and uninsured would have "limited effects."

"In contrast, better management of geriatric patients, who are likely to have a constellation of chronic disease, may produce better results. In terms of cost containment and disease management of patients, the relationship between primary and ED care perhaps is more similar to that between primary and specialist care than we previously thought, especially as the proportion of the elderly population in the U.S. increases. Ways to achieve efficient chronic disease management, disease prevention, and health promotion at the primary care level are critical in the pursuit of the solution for ED crowding and utilization," researchers wrote.

This increase in ED users could further complicate the issue of delays in EDs. Another study that appeared in Annals of Emergency Medicine earlier this week called "United States Emergency Department Performance on Wait Time and Length of Visit" found that only 30% of EDs got the majority of their patients seen by a physician within recommended time frames, and 13.8% of EDs achieved the triage target for the majority of patients who needed to be seen by a doctor within an hour.

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