Why Privately Insured Seek Care in Emergency Departments

Patients' perception of the severity of their medical problem and who they first contact for help or advice are the factors most associated with whether they seek emergency care, according to a Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) study based on the National Institute for Health Care Reform's (NIHCR) 2012 Autoworker Health Care Survey. Nearly a quarter of respondents (23%) reported having an urgent medical problem in the three months before the survey, and almost half (44%) of those with an urgent condition ultimately went to an emergency department for treatment. Of people with an urgent problem, nearly half first contacted their regular source of care-typically a primary care clinician-and those patients were less likely to go to emergency departments, the study found. Source: Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC)