The March 12, 2014 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that the American college of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) gave the emergency care system an overall grade of D+, with nearly half of the states receiving of grade of D or lower. (Pennsylvania got a C). Reasons for the low grades include:
- A decrease in primary care physicians, resulting in the emergency department becoming increasingly responsible for care that was once performed by primary care physicians.
- Emergency departments increasingly becoming the entry point for inpatient care as few and fewer emergency care physicians will admit patients directly to the hospital.
- A national lack of access to psychiatric care, with these patients ending up in the emergency room.
The report concludes that emergency departments are to the point that they operate in a “near continuous state of crisis.”
Liever, Hyman & Potter serves the injured, and their families, in Reading, Pottsville and throughout Eastern and Central PA. The lawyers there handle personal injury claims, including claims for serious injuries or death.
From the desk of Edward E. Houseman, Esquire.