Repeat visitors crowd ERs

From the Boston Globe

A state study has found that about 4 percent of the people who used Massachusetts health emergency departments in 2003 accounted for 17.5 percent of total visits.

The Division of Health Care Finance and Policy study represented the first time the state examined data on those who frequent emergency rooms. Officials said gathering the information was the first step in figuring out how to provide better treatment for people who may regularly need immediate care.

''We first wanted to know who are these people and why is this a regular source of care," said Amy Lischko, the division's assistant commisioner. ''Then we can look at how to get people a real medical home and better-coordinated care."

The patients went to emergency rooms even though the facilities are more expensive and often less comfortable than a physician's office. In addition to excessive costs, healthcare analysts said, quality of care can be compromised when patients visit emergency departments instead of their regular doctors, especially if they do so frequently.