Research by Lee Ann Jarousse
A trip to the emergency department too often conjures up images of crowded waiting rooms and extensive wait times. And rightly so. Emergency departments in the United States continue to experience overcrowding, crippling their ability to handle day-to-day emergencies much less natural disasters or acts of terrorism. "Emergency department usage continues to increase year after year, outpacing population growth for the past 15 years," says Jesse Pines, M.D., director of the Center for Health Care Quality at the George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C. During the same time period, the number of EDs has declined, creating the classic scenario of lower supply and greater demand.
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