Study: Hospitals Serving More Minority Patients May Have More Crowded EDs

Hospitals treating higher proportions of minority populations are more likely to divert ambulances, which indicates emergency department overcrowding, than hospitals serving lower proportions of minorities, according to a study in Health Affairs.

Researchers studied data on ambulance diversion — when an ED diverts ambulances to other facilities due to overcrowding — at 202 hospitals in California in 2007.

They found hospitals in the 90th percentile of minority ED visitors had 306 annual hours of diversion — 4.1 times as many as hospitals in the 10th percentile, which had 75 hours, all other factors being equal.

More Articles on ED Utilization:

Study: Diabetic Children With Medicaid Revisited ED More Often Than Those With Private Insurance
Study: Pediatric ED Return Visits Averaged 2.7% Annually From 2001-2007

Report: Patient Education Reduced Unnecessary ED Visits by 17%

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