Seeing the national ER statistics will create one of two impressions: either people have too many accidents or illnesses or their health insurance doesn’t provide basic health care services.
How Often are We Going to the Emergency Room?
While most of us hope to avoid the emergency room as much as possible, chances are good that we’ll all end up there at one point or another. And in these days of having high premiums for health insurance, it seems that more people than ever are in the ER – and not always for medical emergencies. So, just how many people are stopping into the ER? The figures from a 2006 survey by National Hospital Ambulatory Medical reveals:
- 2006 total emergency room visits: 119.2 million
- Visits per 100 persons: 40.5
- Median time spent in emergency room: 2.6 hours
- Injury-related visits: 42.4 million
- Visits with patient seen in fewer than 15 minutes: 22%
- Visits resulting in hospital admission: 13%
- Visits resulting in transfer to a different hospital: 1.9%
If these results sound like a lot, that’s because they are. Millions of people are using the emergency rooms in their local areas to handle emergencies, but also to get medical advice.
Another Possible Reason for Higher Numbers
Many people who don’t have health insurance know w way to get the care they need without having to necessarily pay for it – head to the emergency room. Since these facilities can not turn people away, those who have non-life threatening conditions can often find themselves waiting to be seen by a doctor. Though triage helps to ensure that only the sickest patients get seen first, the ER overcrowding is becoming an issue for staff, who are generally understaffed and overworked.
It might be a worthwhile venture to look into the ER statistics in your hometown emergency room to see how many patients they see and whether they are timely in the case of an emergency.