A new study has concluded that more than four million emergency room visits a year are for chronic medical problems that, if treated more effectively at the primary care level, could have been avoided.
And that those more than four million visits cost $8.3 billion a year.
According to a new analysis performed by Premier, Inc., more than 24 million ER visits a year are by patients with six chronic medical conditions: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, heart failure, hypertension, and behavioral health problems. Thirty percent of those visits, the study concluded, could have been prevented with better care at the primary care and care management levels.
The study also suggests strategies for improving that primary care and care management.
Learn more about the Premier study in the Healthcare Dive article “EDs could save $8.3B annually with better primary care, study finds.”