A Quantitative Look at ER Overuse

Emergency room visits nationwide are on the rise, even as the total number of emergency rooms is falling. Add this to the fact that, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's recent publication, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2006 Emergency Department Summary, only 15.9 million out of 119 million visits to the emergency room in 2006 were urgent or emergent, and we see just how taxed our emergency rooms are. Dr. Derek Robinson, of the American College of Emergency Physicians, explores solutions to this expensive and inefficient way to provide care. Dr. Maurie Pickard hosts.