Alternative Access in Acute Care Delivery

Lee A. Resnick, MD, FAAFP In my last column I examined the recent study by the Center for Studying Health System Change which reviewed data from the 2008 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). I identified critical flaws in the definitions used to distinguish “appropriate” emergency department (ED) visits from “non-urgent” or so-called “routine” visits. I concluded that the study missed a tremendous opportunity to identify alternatives for the vast majority of patients with …

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