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Previous Volume 334:657-658 March 7, 1996 Number 10 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Emergency department care for patients whose problems are not true emergencies has become a fashionable scapegoat for the ills of the health care system in the United States. Such care is considered wasteful and expensive and is therefore a prime target for cost-cutting efforts by health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and other insurers.^1,2 In 1992, there were 89.8 million visits to the emergency departments of nonfederal, short-stay hospitals in the United States, or 35.7 visits per 100 persons.³ The majority (55.4 percent) were classified as nonurgent. Patients with nonurgent conditions often face long waits at emergency departments; they contribute to overcrowding, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Roberts, R. R., Frutos, P. W., Ciavarella, G. G., Gussow, L. M., Mensah, E. K., Kampe, L. M., Straus, H. E., Joseph, G., Rydman, R. J. (1999). Distribution of Variable vs Fixed Costs of Hospital Care. JAMA 281: 644-649 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Nash, E. A., Margo, C. E. (1998). Patterns of Emergency Department Visits for Disorders of the Eye and Ocular Adnexa. Arch Ophthalmol 116: 1222-1226 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Malone, R. E. (1998). Whither the Almshouse? Overutilization and the Role of the Emergency Department. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 23: 795-832 [Abstract]  
• Roberts, R. R., Zalenski, R. J., Mensah, E. K., Rydman, R. J., Ciavarella, G., Gussow, L., Das, K., Kampe, L. M., Dickover, B., McDermott, M. F., Hart, A., Straus, H. E., Murphy, D. G., Rao, R. (1997). Costs of an Emergency Department--Based Accelerated Diagnostic Protocol vs Hospitalization in Patients With Chest Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. JAMA 278: 1670-1676 [Abstract]  
• Young, G. P., Wagner, M. B., Kellermann, A. L., Ellis, J., Bouley, D., for the 24 Hours in the ED Study Group, (1996). Ambulatory Visits to Hospital Emergency Departments: Patterns and Reasons for Use. JAMA 276: 460-465 [Abstract]  
• Tintinalli, J. E. (1996). Emergency Medicine. JAMA 275: 1804-1805 [Abstract]