Ohio emergency dept. use increasing, higher than national average

New data from the American Hospital Association shows that Ohioans are increasingly using hospital emergency departments for care, and at a rate higher than the national average (Source: “Ohioans’ high use of ER costly,” Dayton Daily News, April 25, 2012).

According to AHA data, in Ohio there were 554 visits per 1,000 people to hospital emergency departments in 2010, the most recent year for which AHA data is available. That was up from 449 visits per 1,000 people in 2002, and was the sixth highest rate in the nation — 34 percent higher than the U.S. average.

Higher ED use “makes everyone’s health care more expensive …,” said Bryan Bucklew, president and CEO of the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association.

Greg Moody, Director of the Governor’s Office for Health Transformation agree, adding “It is one of these hot spots that is a really good example of how many different parts of the system can break down.”