51% of cancer hospital visits were potentially preventable, researchers say

A recent study found that 51.6 percent of emergency department visits among patients with cancer were potentially preventable.

The cross-sectional study, published Jan. 19 in JAMA Network Open, used data on emergency department visits from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from Jan. 1, 2012, to Dec. 31, 2019. Among more than 854 million visits, more than 35.5 million — or 4 percent — were patients with cancer.

Here are five findings:

1. Of emergency department visits, 21.3 percent were classified as high acuity.
   
   
2. Potentially preventable emergency department visits nearly doubled, from 1,851,692 to 3,214,276.
   
   
3. Pain was the most common preventable cause, at 36.9 percent.
   
   
4. Overall, 28.9 percent of emergency department visits resulted in unplanned hospitalizations.
   
   
5. Living in a nursing home was positively associated with having a potentially preventable emergency department visit.