overutilization of hospital ERs

Far fewer hospital emergency room visits are for medical problems better addressed in other settings, according to a new study. In a review of six years worth of data encompassing 424 million ER visits, researchers found that only 3.3 percent of those visits were truly “avoidable,” with the avoidable visits mostly involving problems ERs are not equipped to address, such as dental and mental health issues. This finding flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that people turn too quickly to hospital ERs for routine medical problems or use ERs because they lack access to more appropriate care. Learn [...]