High-volume emergency departments have lower mortality rates

A new study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine found that patients are less likely to die if they are admitted through a busy emergency department (ED). The study looked at data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for mortality for eight different diagnoses between 2005 and 2009 out of 17.5 million admissions.

Patient mortality decreased as volume increased overall and for all eight diagnoses, the study found. The conditions included acute myocardial infarction, acute respiratory failure, congestive heart failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, pneumonia, respiratory failure, sepsis, and stroke.

Read the article here.