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Emergency departments used most by poor, elderly
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 6, 2010
Emergency department use is highest among patients who are elderly or poor or live in rural areas, according to a report released in November by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Patients living in low-income areas were 90% more likely to use an ED than patients in affluent neighborhoods, said the report, based on a nationally representative federal database of 26 million ED visits to 1,000 community hospitals in 2008. Patients 65 and older were 24% likelier than younger adults to visit the ED, and people in rural areas used the ED 40% more often than city dwellers (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/12/06/prbf1206.htm.
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