A recent study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine found for-profit hospitals and those serving African American and Medicaid patients were are more likely to close their emergency rooms, according to a news release by the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Researchers analyzed data from California hospitals from 1998 to 2008, a period in which 7.2 of ERs in the state closed. The study found for-profit hospitals were 65 percent more likely to close an ER than non-profit hospitals. Additionally, the study discovered that for every 10-percent increase in African American patients a hospital served, the odds of its ER closing increased by 40 percent, and for every 10-percent increase in Medicaid patients a hospital served, the odds of its ER closing increased by 17 percent.
"Emergency department closures disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, but there are system-wide ripple effects felt everywhere," said the study's author Renee Hsia, MD, MSc, who is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco. "Future research on emergency department closures must examine their impact on health outcomes. It is concerning that the very populations who most rely on emergency services may experience declines in access to emergency care."
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Researchers analyzed data from California hospitals from 1998 to 2008, a period in which 7.2 of ERs in the state closed. The study found for-profit hospitals were 65 percent more likely to close an ER than non-profit hospitals. Additionally, the study discovered that for every 10-percent increase in African American patients a hospital served, the odds of its ER closing increased by 40 percent, and for every 10-percent increase in Medicaid patients a hospital served, the odds of its ER closing increased by 17 percent.
"Emergency department closures disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, but there are system-wide ripple effects felt everywhere," said the study's author Renee Hsia, MD, MSc, who is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco. "Future research on emergency department closures must examine their impact on health outcomes. It is concerning that the very populations who most rely on emergency services may experience declines in access to emergency care."
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