Freestanding Emergency Departments Are Associated With Higher Medicare Costs: A Longitudinal Panel Data Analysis:

INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing

Nitish Patidar¹ 

关键词: freest;    ing emergency departments;    hospital emergency services;    emergency medical services;    Medicare;    health expenditure;    health services accessibility;    longitudinal studies;   

DOI  :  10.1177/0046958017727106

学科分类：医学（综合）

来源: Sage Journals

【 摘 要 】

The number of freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) is growing rapidly in the United States. Proponents of FSEDs cite potential benefits of FSEDs including lower waiting time and reduced travel distance for needed emergency care. Others have suggested that increased access to emergency care may lead to an increase in the use of emergency departments for lower acuity patients, resulting in higher overall health care expenditures. We examined the relationship between the number of FSEDs in each county and total Medicare expenditures between 2003 and 2009. Our results show that each additional FSED in a county is associated with an expenditure increase of $55 per Medicare beneficiary. This finding suggests that even if FSEDs may increase access to emergency care, it may result in higher overall Medicare expenditures.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC