With medical care costs continuing to rise, recent attempts to reduce emergency department use have occurred in some states and Medicaid programs. One approach is to deny or limit payment for an emergency department visit if the discharge diagnosis is classified as a “nonemergency” condition. A new study examined how often patients who are treated in the emergency department with the same initial symptoms have a “nonemergency” or an actual life-threatening diagnosis after being evaluated. Catherine Dolf explains in this week’s JAMA Report.
