Safety

ER visits at a record high

Hospital Safety Insider, June 4, 2015

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EDs in U.S. hospitals saw the highest number of patients ever in 2011, and the trend of overcrowding is only expected to get worse, according to emergency physicians on the front lines.

More than 136 million patients visited EDs in 2011, according to the CDC’s National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, published in November 2014. Compare that to 2010, which had almost 130 million people showing up in ED waiting rooms.
 
What does this mean? As more patients seek primary care in America’s EDs, more facilities—and the staff to run them—will be needed, say officials with the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), an advocate group for quality emergency care. In addition, overcrowded EDs will require hospitals to revisit their security needs and policies for patient boarding, especially behavioral health patients and other visitors considered at high risk for violence.
 
This is an excerpt from an article in Briefings on Hospital Safety. Visit here to log in or subscribe.
 

 



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