![Emergency Department, Affordable Care Act, ACA, Public Policy, Health Insurance, Workforce](https://www.acepnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/feature-story_pg9.png)
To resolve these issues, Dr. Rosenau and Dr. Gerardi advise:
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ACEP Now: Vol 33 – No 07 – July 2014- Enacting liability reform (which the poll ranked as the most important solution to improving emergency care)
- Urging the government to increase the number of paid slots for physician training
- Enticing psychiatrists to see more patients by increasing Medicaid rates to Medicare rates
- Using telemedicine to increase access to psychiatrists who have inadequate availability due to manpower shortages and limited insurance/federal/state program participation
- Increasing the number of intensive outpatient treatment centers and programs
- Increasing inpatient capacity
- Addressing unfunded mandates, such as EMTALA
Action Needed
Armed with the poll’s results, Dr. Rosenau and Dr. Gerardi urge ACEP members to share the information with individuals who have decision-making power (eg, state and federal legislators, medical societies, and hospital administrators). For an even greater impact, Dr. Rosenau and Dr. Gerardi recommend becoming involved in local politics or supporting your state’s medical society chapter.
Dr. Gerardi said that congressional representatives are willing to listen because emergency physicians care for many of their constituents. “Stories illustrating the data win the day inside the halls of Congress,” he said. “If you can’t visit your congressman, share your stories with ACEP, and we will take them to Washington, D.C., for you.”
Stories illustrating the data win the day inside the halls of Congress. —Michael J. Gerardi, MD, FACEP, ACEP President-Elect
ACEP is urging Congress to make a firm commitment to emergency medicine patients by holding a hearing to examine whether additional strains are occurring in the ED safety net as a consequence of ACA.
Future Outlook
Dr. Rosenau maintains that all U.S. citizens deserve health care coverage. Of those polled, 34 percent believed that the ACA will have a positive impact on access to emergency care in the long term.
But in the near and middle term, there is a danger that there won’t be adequate infrastructure to ensure adequate care. “We need Congress to act,” Dr. Rosenau said. “Many politicians think emergency medicine contributes to the high cost of medical care, but ultimately, it is a valuable service for a reasonable price for 136 million people per year.”
“ACEP’s poll should be viewed as an alarm and a call to action,” Dr. Rosenau concluded.
Karen Appold is a writer in Pennsylvania
Reference
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2 Responses to “Emergency Department Visits On the Rise”
December 3, 2014
Emergency Department Visits Hit Record High, With More Cases Requiring Urgent Treatment - ACEP Now[…] the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is already evidence that emergency visits are on the rise now. Nearly half of emergency physicians responding to an ACEP poll in April reported a rise in emergency… Nearly 90 percent expected emergency visits to increase over the next three years, and more than […]
May 6, 2015
Emergency Department Visits Increasing, ACEP Poll Shows - ACEP Now[…] are going up, according to a new poll [PDF]. This represents a significant increase from just one year ago when less than half reported increases. Rather than trying to keep people out of emergency […]