The following information comes from a 2011 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project statistical brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:
1. There were 421 visits to an emergency department for every 1,000 population in the U.S.
2. One-sixth of ED patients were admitted to the same hospital at which they had checked in to the ED.
3. Females had a 20 percent higher ED visit rate than males.
4. Western states had the lowest ED visit rates.
5. Rural EDs had higher discharge rates than urban EDs.
6. Patients younger than one year and older than 85 years had the highest ED visit rates, though the older patients were admitted to the same hospital more often.
7. While bronchitis was the most common reason for an inpatient admission from the ED for pediatric patients, middle-aged patients were most often admitted to the hospital from the ED for a bloodstream infection.
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