Emergency department use is at a historic high. Nearly one-half of all nonelective admissions go through the ED, according to one source. The following are factors driving ED use, according to a brief from CMS and the Children's Health Insurance Program Payment Advisory Commission:
- Patient's perception of need for prompt care
- Provider's perception of need for prompt care
- Perceived severity of the condition
- Availability and accessibility of ED relative to other sites of care
- Physician referrals to the ED
- Increase in nonemergency, primary care referrals to ED for diagnostic work-ups
- Decline in hospital admissions from office-based physician practices
- Move of some historical inpatient services to the ED setting
- Improvements in ED-based rapid diagnostic technology
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