Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Groups May Have Underused The Emergency Department For Nonavoidable Visits, 2018-22.

ABSTRACT: In the decades preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency department (ED) use increased more rapidly for socioeconomically disadvantaged patients than for advantaged patients, often because of barriers to accessing office-based care. However, it remains unknown whether the pandemic has had durable effects on socioeconomic disparities in ED use. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of ED visits in the US, using multipayer claims data. We used a difference-in-differences approach to compare ED visit rates between March 2020 and August 2022 with rates from the same months of 2018-19. Among 15.6 million ED visits, potentially avoidable visits persistently declined for all insured populations during the pandemic period. Potentially nonavoidable visits also declined early in the pandemic bu

SUBMITTER: Leuchter RK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12236063 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature