California emergency department visit rates for medical conditions increased while visit rates for injuries fell, 2005-11.

ABSTRACT: The emergency department (ED) is the source of most hospital admissions; provides care for patients with no other point of access to the health care system; receives advanced care referrals from primary care physicians; and provides surveillance data on injuries, infectious diseases, violence, and adverse drug events. Understanding the changes in the profile of disease in the ED can inform emergency services administration and planning and can provide insight into the public's health. We analyzed the trends in the diagnoses seen in California EDs from 2005 to 2011, finding that while the ED visit rate for injuries decreased by 0.7 percent, the rate of ED visits for noninjury diagnoses rose 13.4 percent. We also found a rise in symptom-related diagnoses, such as abdominal pain, along with n

SUBMITTER: Hsia RY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4507565 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature