Industry Trends

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) released it's survey results for ED visits in 2007 in August 2010. ED visits have been increasing since 2005, but took a dip in 2007 to 116.8 million. Compared to 2006, which experienced 119.2 million visits, that was a drop of two percent.

We are now learning that universal coverage does not necessarily mean reduced ED visits. The original postulate was that if all were insured, fewer people would need to go to an ED for primary care. They would have a traditional "medical home" environment and willing physician practitioners due to the patient's "insured" status. Apparently, nothing could be further from the truth.