This is an opinion editorial by Ricardo Martinez, MD, the chief medical officer of Adeptus on how free-standing Emergency Departments can help improve access to emergency care.
Hospital-based emergency departments in the U.S. continue to be overwhelmed with more patients each year, while the number of facilities decreases. This trend places an immense burden on patients who rely on EDs and physicians who are responsible for treatment. With the high demand for care, change is necessary to address the growing crisis in emergency medicine and ensure that more patients have access to rapid care.
This article looks at how ED have decreased by 11% (from 1995-2010) yet visits have increased by 35% during that same time and wait times have gone from minutes to hours in most geographic areas.