Nonurgent emergency-department use targeted

Modern Healthcare
June 18, 2008

Two healthcare research organizations have joined forces to support an initiative that will test strategies to reduce nonurgent use of hospital emergency departments.  The not-for-profit New England Healthcare Institute in Cambridge, Mass. -- which conducts evidence-based research to influence policy change -- and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, also in Cambridge, will work with hospitals and other healthcare sites to experiment with ways to decrease the use of emergency rooms for nonurgent purposes.

..."There is a widely held notion that the uninsured are single-handedly driving up the cost of healthcare by overusing emergency departments," said Wendy Everett, president of the New England Healthcare Institute, in a news release, "But in fact, nonurgent ED use is increasing in tandem among all payer groups including those covered by both privately and publicly sponsored insurance." 

Link to Full Article: http://www.modernhealthcare.com