New study examines ER use among children

Researchers from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project released their second report on emergency department visits to community hospitals.  This report focused on children.  It examines data from 23 states, including Ohio.

According to the analysis, children make up 25 percent of total ER use, or 12.4 million visits.  Over 95.5 percent of these vists result in children being treated and sent home, while 20% percent of adults treated in an ER get hospitalized.

Children with the highest rates of using ERs included: children age 0 to 4, boys, children living in communities between 10,000 to 50,000 people, and the poorest communities.  For example, children in the poorest communities had a rate of ER use that was 86.1 percent greater than in the wealthiest communities (413.8 visits per 1,000 children compared to 222.3 visits per 1,000 children).

This difference in ER use by wealth reflects itself in a different rate of ER use between Medicaid and commercial health plans.  The study found that Medicaid was billed for for 44.6 percent of ER visits, while covering around 25 percent of children.  Private health plans were billed for 42.4 percent of ER visits, while covering 64 percent of children.  Uninsured children accounted for 8.6 percent of ER visits.

While most ER visits for children did not result in hospitalizations, the rate of hospitalization was 5 percent for Medicaid and for privately insured children compared to 2.2 for children who were uninsured.

Injuries accounted for 30 percent of ER use, followed by respiratory infections.