Too Many ER Visits for New Yorkers, Study Shows
Nov. 30--Western New Yorkers make more than 200,000 potentially avoidable trips to emergency rooms for sore throats, earaches and other minor medical problems annually, according to an analysis by Univera Healthcare.
Across upstate New York, the number of potentially avoidable visits exceeds 700,000 per year. Univera Healthcare shared the findings with the Medical Society of the County of Erie this week.
"For the second year in a row, our analysis of ER visits in which patients don't stay overnight found that two out of five visits are potentially avoidable," said Richard Vienne, vice president and chief medical officer, Univera Healthcare. "True emergencies belong in the ER, But most sore throats and earaches, for example, should be seen by your primary care doctor. Your doctor will likely see you more quickly and your co-pay for a doctor visit will be less."
Univera Healthcare used a New York University formula used to classify ER visits and applied it to hospital data collected by the New York State Department of Health to determine the number of emergency room visits that were potentially avoidable.
Results showed one out of four emergency room visits in 2009, in which patients were treated and released on the same day, was for a medical issue, such as a back problem, that didn't need care within 12 hours.
Another 19 percent of visits were for medical conditions that needed treatment soon -- such as ear infections -- but could have been treated in a primary care setting.
Potential annual savings for commercially insured patients across upstate range from $8.1 million to $10.7 million if 5 percent of patients currently going to an emergency rooms for minor problems instead went to a physician's office.
"It's in patients' best interest to first call their primary care doctor when deciding the best place to receive care for minor medical problems," said Eugene J. Kalmuk, M.D., past president of the Medical Society of the County of Erie. "Patients with minor ailments usually receive the best care from the primary care doctor who knows them best."
Copyright 2011 - Tonawanda News, North Tonawanda, N.Y.
