Cost analysis of emergency room use by low-income patients

Finding a way to provide non-urgent health care access to patients who inap propriately overuse the ER has become a national health care priority as ER costs per-visit are generally three times higher than comparable care in a n outpatient clinic. Among the most common heavy users of ER services for non-urgent conditions are: Medicaid and Medicare recipients, the uninsured, the mentally ill, the drug and alcohol dependent, and those without families or adequate social support. The authors report here on their study sample of 453 individuals who came f rom two public housing units close to the hospital. The 453 residents in the sample made 1,554 ER visits in the 2-year sampling period. While the mean number of visits per patient was 3.4, the range ext ended from 1 visit to 41 visits. High-frequency health problems among the heavy users in this study included : respiratory problems, injuries, psychiatric and substance abuse problems, and digestive problems.