Comments on: Some Surprises On Emergency Room Use http://www.letstalkhealthcare.org/health-care-costs/some-surprises-on-emergency-room-use/ Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:45:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: T.L.M. http://www.letstalkhealthcare.org/health-care-costs/some-surprises-on-emergency-room-use/#comment-5752 T.L.M. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:37:34 +0000 http://www.letstalkhealthcare.org/?p=242#comment-5752 The bottom line here is access to primary care. Even in place such as Massachusetts, where health care is supposedly top notch and abundant, it is extremely difficult to find a primary care physician that accepts new patients. If you are lucky enough to have a primary care physician, you will still find it difficult to get an appointment within a reasonable time, when you really need care. The obvious solution to this problem is to attract future physicians to primary care, and to have more urgent care centers available for patients. The bottom line here is access to primary care. Even in place such as Massachusetts, where health care is supposedly top notch and abundant, it is extremely difficult to find a primary care physician that accepts new patients. If you are lucky enough to have a primary care physician, you will still find it difficult to get an appointment within a reasonable time, when you really need care.

The obvious solution to this problem is to attract future physicians to primary care, and to have more urgent care centers available for patients.

]]> By: Mike http://www.letstalkhealthcare.org/health-care-costs/some-surprises-on-emergency-room-use/#comment-5716 Mike Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:29:14 +0000 http://www.letstalkhealthcare.org/?p=242#comment-5716 ERs are notoriously busy as you mention and many of what is seen in the ER today is non-urgent and clearly not life threatening. Many patients are not willing to wait even an hour or so to be seen when an ER is busy. Makes me wonder why they even showed up. Most patients are unable to be seen by their PCP and the ER is their only other option much of the time. As you mentioned we need loads more primary care providers in all areas of the country but unless the financial portion of medicine gets fixed this is unlikely to change soon. Even with an increase in PCPs the benefits of such would take a while to be realized. Perhaps instead of paying primary care providers more, we need to pay specialist less. Even out the playing field a bit for the good of all of us. ERs are notoriously busy as you mention and many of what is seen in the ER today is non-urgent and clearly not life threatening. Many patients are not willing to wait even an hour or so to be seen when an ER is busy. Makes me wonder why they even showed up.

Most patients are unable to be seen by their PCP and the ER is their only other option much of the time. As you mentioned we need loads more primary care providers in all areas of the country but unless the financial portion of medicine gets fixed this is unlikely to change soon. Even with an increase in PCPs the benefits of such would take a while to be realized.

Perhaps instead of paying primary care providers more, we need to pay specialist less. Even out the playing field a bit for the good of all of us.

]]> By: Amy Lischko http://www.letstalkhealthcare.org/health-care-costs/some-surprises-on-emergency-room-use/#comment-5715 Amy Lischko Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:47:59 +0000 http://www.letstalkhealthcare.org/?p=242#comment-5715 DHCFP had 2 similar reports released on "preventable" ER visits highlighting the fact that the insured were big users of the ER for preventable illnesses. And the hours of these visits were also not restricted to evening and weekends as one might suspect. Instead people try to get appts from primary care doctors and are sent to the ER because they have no appt slots. We also heard that people avoid their doctors for injuries if they want to ensure that they get a MRI or other scan as the ER doesn't have the same prior approval restrictions that are the norm in primary care offices. Why don't insurers look at which physician groups do better at keeping their patients out of ER for primary treatble conditions or require the ones they contract with to have partnerships with other physicians to ensure they have the capacity to see patients sooner. Are there any P4P programs around this issue? DHCFP had 2 similar reports released on “preventable” ER visits highlighting the fact that the insured were big users of the ER for preventable illnesses. And the hours of these visits were also not restricted to evening and weekends as one might suspect. Instead people try to get appts from primary care doctors and are sent to the ER because they have no appt slots. We also heard that people avoid their doctors for injuries if they want to ensure that they get a MRI or other scan as the ER doesn’t have the same prior approval restrictions that are the norm in primary care offices. Why don’t insurers look at which physician groups do better at keeping their patients out of ER for primary treatble conditions or require the ones they contract with to have partnerships with other physicians to ensure they have the capacity to see patients sooner. Are there any P4P programs around this issue?

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