Emergency departments are closing their doors: Why?

Emergency departments are closing their doors in the U.S.

/ istockphoto

(CBS) Americans often take for granted that there's a hospital nearby in case they need urgent medical attention. But with the rising cost of emergency care, that may no longer be the case.

A new study shows that from 1990 to 2009, the number of emergency rooms in the U.S. plummeted from 2,446 to 1,779 - a 27-percent decline. That number includes only ERs in non-rural areas, since rural ERs typically receive federal funding that keeps them open.

What's killing off America's emergency rooms? Tight money and a changing marketplace.

For-profit hospitals that aren't making enough cash and serve patients below the poverty line - with less generous forms of insurance like Medicaid - were the ones most likely to shut their doors, the study showed.  

But the poor aren't the only ones at risk. When emergency rooms close, experts say, it's a problem for everyone.

"Some people think, 'As long as my emergency room isn't closing, I feel OK and protected," study author Dr. Renee Hsia, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told the New York Times. "But even if they don't lose the ER in their own neighborhood, they do experience the effect of fewer emergency rooms -- the waits get longer and longer, and people's outcomes get worse."

Lives are at risk, Dr. David H. Newman, associate professor of emergency medicine at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, told CBS News in an email. Studies show that death rates are higher, heart attack patients are treated more slowly, and patients in pain have to wait longer to be seen. Some hospitals are even forced to turn ambulances away if the ER is too crowded, Dr. Newman said.

"Most disturbingly," Newman said, "crowding is simply inhumane - confidentiality breaches are unavoidable, medical errors are far more likely, and individual needs are sacrificed."

The study was published in the May 18 issue of the "Journal of the American Medical Association."

[rf35]

Close the borders to illegals or close the emergency departments. Simple choice.

[JEngdahlJ]

Medical errors research in latest Health Affairs. Society of Actuaries study indicates more than 2 million patient injuries each year. http://www.healthcaretownhall.com/?p=3809

[Bojax39]

"Emergency departments are closing their doors: Why?"

Not sure, but maybe millions of illegals suckling at the social & healthcare systems along with idiotic healthcare laws might have something to do with it.

[gadfly65]

This is the beginning of the future of healthcare as Republicans would have it. According to the right it's socialism for everyone to have access to healthcare, so soon emergency services will only be available to the wealthy.

[wolverine45]

WHY ISNT THE REAL REASON FOR THE BANCKRUPCY OF EMERGENCY ROOMS AND HOSPITALS EVEN MENTIONED!!!!!!!!!! 30 MILLION ILLEGAL ALIENS IN THE USA AND ONE MILLION MORE ARRIVING EVERY YEAR MOST ARE POOR, MANY ARE SICK AND HAVE HAD LITTLE MEDICAL CARE IN THEIR OWN COUNTRYS, THEY ALL USE THE EMERGENCY ROOMS FOR FREE MEDICAL CARE PAID FOR BY THE BROKE US CITIZENS. TELL THE TRUTH IN THESE ARTICLES....ILLEGAL ALEINS COST AMERICAN TAX PAYERS OVER 300 BILLION DOLLARS A YEARS IN GOVERNMENT HANDOUTS AND IF IT DOES NOT STOP NOW, AMERICA AS WE KNOW IT WILL CEASE TO EXIST.

[theskeptical1]

Not so loud, wolverine, you aren't supposed to mention that little fact. After all, those illegal alien invaders are just here to do the work that Americans won't blah blah blah blah blah. Meanwhile the braying jack@ss brigade loudly blames the problem on the Republicans, the insurance companies and anyone who opposes the government's brazen attempt to take over the health care industry.

[USADoug]

maybe it is because we can't afford to be the medical provider of illegals from 3rd world countries who don't pay into the system

[babooph]

A lot of medical stuff can be & now is done over seas ,but the ER must be kept-the crooked ins industry will not pay for them though....

[skeezix06]

This is where the repubs jump in and say "But, but, but. We have the best health care in the world."

[us_1776]

Racist much Deadnuts?

.

[cherrybrown]

Honest much Dreadnut?

WAY!!!!!!

[abby_del_abbey]

The concept of for-profit hospitals is probably a big part of the problem. I do not object to physicians and other health care providers earning a living, but the emphasis on a bottom line is detrimental to the health and welfare of a society. Case in point: my mother went to ER and was very sick, but the doctor quietly confided to me that he could not admit her because he would have to answer for to his superiors as she was not "sick enough" to meet Medicare guidelines and thus was worried about reimbursement. This was a woman with a host of health issues including asthma, and she was having respiratory problems along with her flu symptoms. The bottom line was dictating the care she received. His solution: he kept her in ER as long as he could and then sent her home. Did she get better? Yes, but I believe it took longer and it required multiple doctor visits. So, was any money really saved?

[kmberger]

Why are medical costs rising so fast? It is not that new medicines are formulated yearly, or that procedures change that much to justify costs rising obscenely. This is pure greed by insurers, and that is why medical insurance reform and government regulation to keep costs in check is sorely needed. There are too many insurers who charge an arm and a leg and cover very little as there are policies that cost less and cover more. It is that inequity that needs to be rectified. There is no reason why for profit hosptials should even be in existence. And that with rising emergency care they would turn away patients is simply criminal. The idea that ones health is dependent on how much the patient can pay or is covered by insurance is an outright human rights violation. Healthcare is a social service not a commodity that can be treated like widgets. This is the problem with the for-profit mentality in this nation. The people in this nation cannot access the benefits of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness when most of their budget is needed to cover escalating medical expenses.