ER revisits pricey, occur more often than previously reported

The high cost of health care: Emergency department revisits are expensive and occur twice as often as previously reported

One in five patients return to the emergency department (ED) within 30 days of an initial visit and one in 12 returns after three days, according to an article published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

These rates are more frequent than previously reported and place a significant strain on overburdened EDs and the broader health care system.

Little is known about what happens to patients after they are discharged from the ED.

Researchers reviewed Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project databases for six states to determine ED revisit rates, variation in revisit rates by diagnosis and state, and associated costs.

The researchers found that across all six states, revisit rates were nearly twice as high as previously reported.

Only about half of all ED revisits involved a return to the index ED followed by a second discharge home.

They also found that total cost of revisits was higher than the total cost of all initial visits. It is not known why ED revisit rates are so high.

The authors suggest that understanding what leads to a revisit could help to improve care and lower costs.