More than 80 percent of physicians recently polled by the American College of Emergency Physicians said emergency visits are increasing in their emergency departments, with half reporting significant rises, and more than 90 percent expecting increases in the next year.
Almost all of the 1,400 U.S. physicians polled (97 percent) reported treating patients on a daily basis who were referred to them by primary care doctors, going against a widely-held assumption that people are choosing to go to the emergency department instead of seeking primary care.
At the same time, 97 percent of emergency physicians also report treating Medicaid patients on a daily basis who could not find any other doctor to accept their health insurance.
If the new health care reform legislation provides insurance coverage that reimburses doctors at Medicaid rates, this could exacerbate a lack of access to medical care, officals said.
“This poll confirms what we are witnessing in Massachusetts – that visits to emergency rooms are going to increase across the country, despite health care reform, and that health insurance coverage does not guarantee access to medical care,” said Dr. Sandra Schneider, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians. “Emergency medicine provides lifesaving and critical care to millions of patients each year and yet only represents 2 percent of the nation’s health care expenditures. Emergency physicians command the resources of a hospital to provide the best care for patients, but we must be prepared for increasing numbers of patients, not fewer, especially given our growing elderly population.”
ACEP conducted the poll from March 3 to March 11. E-mails were sent to 20,687 emergency physicians, and 1,768 responded. The survey has a theoretical sampling error range of ± 2.23.
Physicians responding to the poll attribute the overall increase in emergency patients to patients without health coverage (28 percent) and a growing elderly population (23 percent).
About 89 percent of physicians believe the number of visits to the emergency department will increase as health care reforms are implemented with 54 percent of them expecting to see a significant increase.
