A survey recently released by the American College of Emergency Physicians found emergency physicians have noticed an uptick in patient visits to the emergency department since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act took effect, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Nearly half of ED physicians surveyed, 46 percent, reported patient visits to their ED had increased since Jan. 1, 2014. In addition, only 10 percent of respondents said their ED would be prepared for a significant increase in patient volume, while 77 percent said that their EDs can not handle such an influx of patients.
As for the future, 86 percent of ED physicians expect ED visits to rise in advance of 2017, according to the report.
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