The effect of the doctor-patient relationship on emergency department use among the elderly

R.A. Rosenblatt, G.E. Wright, L.-M. Baldwin, L. Chan, P. Clitherow, F.M. Chen and L.G. Hart

American Journal of Public Health, 2000, vol. 90, issue 1, 97-102

Abstract: Objectives. This study sought to determine the rate of emergency department use among the elderly and examined whether that use is reduced if the patient has a principal-care physician. Methods. The Health Care Financing Administration's National Claims History File was used to study emergency department use by Medicare patients older than 65 years in Washington State during 1994. Results. A total of 18.1% of patients had 1 or more emergency department visits during the study year; the rate increased with age and illness severity. Patients with principal-care physicians were much less likely to use the emergency department for every category of disease severity. After case mix, Medicaid eligibility, and rural/urban residence were controlled for, the odds ratio for having any emergency department visit was 0.47 for patients with a generalist principal-care physician and 0.58 for patients with a specialist principal-care physician. Conclusions: The rate of emergency department use among the elderly is substantial, and most visits are for serious medical problems. The presence of a continuous relationship with a physician regardless of specialty may reduce emergency department use.

Date: 2000
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:2000:90:1:97-102_9

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().