"THE BEST HEALTH CARE IN THE WORLD"

That's how Sean Hannity has been describing America's health care system and he intends to prevent any reform other than that done by the "free market." In reality, we don't have anywhere near the best care in the world and it looks like the care has been declining over the decade 1996-2006.

National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2006 Emergency Department Summary

by Stephen R. Pitts, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P.; Richard W. Niska, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P.; Jianmin Xu, M.S.; and Catharine W. Burt, Ed.D., Division of Health Care Statistics


ED Utilization

+ From 1996 through 2006, the annual number of ED visits increased from 90.3 million (24) to 119.2 million visits (up by 32 percent). This represents an average increase of about 2.9 million visits (3.2 percent) per year. There were, on average, about 227 visits to U.S. EDs every minute during 2006.

+ As the number of visits to the ED has increased, the number of hospital EDs has decreased from 4,019 to 3,833 (25), thus increasing the annual number of visits per ED.

+ From 1996 through 2006, the overall population-based ED utilization rate increased by 18 percent, from 34.2 (24) to 40.5 visits per 100 persons.


EDs nationwide are under increasing pressure to provide care for more patients, resulting in crowding, hallway boarding of admitted patients, and ambulance diversion (4). ED crowding has had multiple other effects, including decreased physician productivity and increased waiting times for minor illness (5). However, delays are now also occurring for the treatment of serious problems, such as myocardial infarction (6).