Study: Many ED Visits Could Be Handled by Urgent, Retail Clinics

CAL/AAEM News Service calaaem.news.service at gmail.com
Wed Sep 29 09:57:44 PDT 2010


 CAL/AAEM: California Chapter of the American Academy of Emergency
Medicine <http://www.aaem.org/emails/images/calaaem_header.gif> 

September 8, 2010

 

Study: Many ED Visits Could Be Handled by Urgent, Retail Clinics

 

CaliforniaHealthline

 

Between 13.7% and 27.1% of patients who visit emergency departments
could have obtained care from a retail clinic or urgent care clinic
instead, a move that could reduce U.S. health care spending by up to
$4.4 billion annually, according to a study published Tuesday in the
journal Health Affairs, HealthLeaders Media reports (Clark,
HealthLeaders Media, 9/8).

 

Researchers from the RAND Corporation conducted the study, which
received funding from the California HealthCare Foundation. CHCF
publishes California Healthline ("KPCC News," KPCC, 9/7).

 

Study Details

 

For the study, researchers analyzed 354 million annual acute care
visits in EDs, retail clinics and urgent care centers between 2001 and
2004 (HealthLeaders Media, 9/8).

 

They found that retail clinics and urgent care centers effectively
could handle conditions such as:

.            Lacerations;

.            Minor fractures;

.            Minor infections; and

.            Strains.

 

Researchers estimated that:

.            13.7% of all hospital ED visits could be treated at a
retail clinic;

.            13.4% of ED visits could be treated at an urgent care
center; and

.            A total of 27.1% of ED visits could be handled by either
type of facility.

 

However, they noted that only 16.8% of all ED visits likely could be
redirected to retail and urgent care clinics because of their
operating hours (HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report, 9/7).

 

Researchers also noted that retail and urgent care clinics could help
ameliorate the country's growing shortage of primary care physicians.
They predicted that the shortage likely will become worse as the U.S.
population ages, which could lead more people to seek care in EDs.

 

Disagreement With Recommendations

 

Angela Gardner, president of the American College of Emergency
Physicians, said her organization has concerns about the RAND
researchers' recommendations to shift more care to retail and urgent
care clinics.

 

Gardner said retail clinics vary in quality and might not be properly
equipped to manage a serious condition. She added that some people
visit EDs for seemingly minor problems that turn out to be serious
ailments.

 

In addition, Gardner criticized RAND's use of data from 2001 through
2004, saying the study fails to consider that the number of patients
visiting EDs for nonurgent reasons has declined in recent years
(HealthLeaders Media, 9/8).

 

 

Read more:
http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2010/9/8/study-many-ed-vi
sits-could-be-handled-by-urgent-retail-clinics.aspx#ixzz0yyg2PgeY

 

 

Abid Mogannam &
Brian Potts MD, MBA
Managing Editors, CAL/AAEM News Service
University of California, Irvine

 

 

Contact us at:  <mailto:somcaaem at uci.edu> somcaaem at uci.edu

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