Are emergency departments drowning with insured patients?
Posted by CEP America on Fri, Jul 23, 2010 @ 11:25 AM
By Ellis Weeker, MD
I just read an interesting story on Kevin.MD.com that discusses the idea that emergency department waits are growing as more people become insured.
The premise being presented is that due to expanded health care coverage, more people are now going to the doctor. However, because expanded coverage doesn’t mean an expanded number of physicians, patients are finding that they have to wait weeks to see their provider. When this happens, they inevitably find their way into the emergency department.
As an emergency physician, I don’t doubt this scenario. But I don’t agree that emergency department waits necessarily have to grow as more people become insured.
A good example of this is the emergency physician partnership in which I belong. We’ve developed our Rapid Medical Evaluation® (RME) program that enables emergency departments to evaluate and treat patients faster, i.e. see more patients. Over time, RME has been shown to improve an ED’s Time to Provider performance regardless of volume – which decreases overcrowding.
In my experience, it’s also very important for an emergency department to have excellent physician-nurse-PA collaboration that enables all members of the team to respond effectively, quickly, and provide the best patient care possible. Think of it as a NASCAR team servicing a car as it comes into the pit. It’s amazing what communication and a team effort can do to facilitate the highest levels of productivity without burning everyone out.
The fact is no matter how many primary care physicians there are, patients will always desire rapid, unscheduled medical care when they have minor medical problems. That means a certain amount of primary care will continue to be provided in the ED. This is not necessarily a bad thing – with the right efficiencies and systems in place, an emergency department should be able to handle higher levels of patient loads without breaking.
What are your thoughts on the topic? Are you seeing increased numbers of patients in your ED? Please share your thoughts.