Hospital ED Visits Continue Steady Climb 

Maintaining a long-term rise for both number and rate of emergency department (ED) visits, 2006 saw 119.2 million visits to hospital EDs, or 40.5 visits per 100 persons, according to a report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The report found a small increase from 2005, when there were about 39.6 visits per 100 persons. However, looking at data from 1996 through 2006, the annual number of ED visits increased 32%, translating into an overall population-based ED utilization rate increase of 18%. Notably, during the same time period that utilization was climbing, the country lost almost 5% of its hospital EDs, from 4,019 in 1996 down to 3,833 in 2006.

CDC authors note that approximately 11% of all ambulatory medical care visits in the U.S. go through the ED, even though just 3.3% of active physicians work in EDs. In fact, 2005 data showed that approximately one-fifth of the U.S. population visited the ED at least once. In 2006, 50.2% of nonobstetric hospital admissions came through the ED, a jump from 36.0% in 1996.

The top complaint at EDs was stomach and abdominal pain, cramps, and spasms, followed by chest pain and related symptoms. Other symptoms, such as fever, headache, accidents, ear infections, and unspecified injuries, each ranked around 2%. However, 53% of visits fell under the “all other reasons” category in the report.

Visits to the ED included blood tests for 38.8% visits (See Graph, above), slightly more often than conventional x-ray, at 34.9%. Also, the 2006 survey collected pulse oximetry values for the first time. About 41% of visits included pulse oximetry, with a median oxygen saturation of 98%, and fewer than 5% of visits with a level of less than 93%.

Infants under 12 months of age made up the group with the highest annual per capita ED visit rate, with 84.5 visits per 100 infants. Persons age 75 years and older came in second, at 60.2 visits per 100 persons. The report also found that the visit rate for blacks was more than twice that of whites —79.9 versus 36.1 visits per 100 persons—while Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders had about half the rate of whites.

The CDC report, “National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2006 Emergency Department Summary,” is available online.