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Abstract:
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Medical care provided in a hospital’s emergency department (ED) costs
substantially more than care provided in a doctor’s office, and up to 56% of ED
visits are preventable according to one study – suggesting room for cost savings by
reducing the number of ED visits. This might be achieved by encouraging more
patients to have a non-ED usual source of care, which could: 1) reduce the need for
ED care by promoting better health through preventive care; and 2) prompt patients
to seek care from their usual source of care instead of an ED.
This study examines whether having an office-based usual source of care
reduces the likelihood of visiting an ED, using the Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey (MEPS) for a panel of respondents surveyed from 2002 to 2003. After
controlling for health status and various socio-economic characteristics, my logit
regression analysis indicates that people with an office-based usual source of care
have 17% lower odds of seeking care in an ED over a two-year period compared to
people who lack an office-based usual source of care. These findings suggest that
policies aimed at increasing the number of people with an office-based usual source
of care could decrease the number of ED admissions. |