Why is the hospital emergency department sometimes used for nonurgent conditions? What are the consequences?
Reasons for emergency department use for nonurgent care include erroneous self-perceptions of the severity of ailment or injury, the 24-hour open-door policy, convenience, and unavailability of primary care providers. Since many private physicians do not provide services to Medicaid enrollees because of low reimbursement rates, Medicaid beneficiaries often have no primary care provider. Since emergency departments are required by law to evaluate every patient regardless of ability to pay, Medicaid patients and the uninsured frequently use them for primary care treatments.
Even the insured sometimes feel that they need medical attention immediately regardless of how their problem might be classified by a provider. Such patients present themselves at the emergency department because they cannot find needed care elsewhere. Since the emergency department requires sophisticated facilities and highly trained personnel and must be accessible 24 hours a day, costs are high and services are not designed for nonurgent care. Inappropriate use of the emergency department wastes precious resources.