Hospital admission rates from the emergency department varied significantly among emergency physicians and hospitals in a single health system, according to a study in Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Researchers examined admission rates among emergency physicians from three EDs within the same health system from 2005 to 2010. The study included 389,120 ED visits and 89 attending emergency physicians. The hospital-level admission rate ranged from 27 percent to 41 percent, and the physician-level admission rate varied from 21 percent to 49 percent after adjusting for patient and clinical characteristics.
The authors concluded, "In the new era of cost containment, wide variation in this common, costly decision requires further exploration."
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Researchers examined admission rates among emergency physicians from three EDs within the same health system from 2005 to 2010. The study included 389,120 ED visits and 89 attending emergency physicians. The hospital-level admission rate ranged from 27 percent to 41 percent, and the physician-level admission rate varied from 21 percent to 49 percent after adjusting for patient and clinical characteristics.
The authors concluded, "In the new era of cost containment, wide variation in this common, costly decision requires further exploration."
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