EMRA+PolicyRx Health Policy Journal Club
A collaboration between Policy Prescriptions and EMRA
As emergency physicians, we care for all members of society, and as such have a unique vantage point on the state of health care. What we find frustrating in our EDs - such as inadequate social services, the dearth of primary care providers, and the lack of mental health services - are universal problems.
As emergency medicine residents and fellows, we learn the management of myocardial infarctions and traumas, and how to intubate, but we are not taught how health policy affects all aspects of our experience in the ED. Furthermore, given our unique position in the health care system, we have an incredible opportunity to advocate for our patients, for society, and for physicians. Yet, with so many competing interests vying for our conference education time, advocacy is often not included in the curricula.
This is the gap this initiative aims to fill. Each month, you will see a review of a new health policy article and how it is applicable to emergency physicians.
Want to contribute?Health Policy Journal Club Articles
Keeping It in the Community
Can community health workers improve outcomes and lead to sustainable savings?
A recent study shows potential benefit in expanding the use of community health workers in the ED.
Read Now
The Unintended Consequences of Saving Lives
Seemingly odd findings have arisen from a case study of naloxone use in the fight against opioids.
In some cases, an intervention that saves lives also becomes a "moral hazard" that leads to risky behavior. Are we seeing this effect with naloxone?
Read Now
If You Build It, They Will Check In
Like many other cases in health care, supplier-induced demand hits emergency care.
As freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) grow in number, so grows their financial impact on U.S. health care spending.
Read Now
Nobody Likes Surprises
Good news! There are fewer surprise bills now than a decade ago.
A surprise medical bill is one a patient receives from an out-of-network provider after seeking care at a facility considered "in-network" by their health insurance plan.
March 2018
Thirty Million Outside the “Golden Hour”
Certain communities appear cut off from the nation’s best trauma care.
In the U.S., cohesive trauma systems began to coalesce in the 1960s, largely based on the triage, transport, and resuscitation concepts derived from WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam War.
February 2018
How Much Should Health Care Cost?
There is no standard for how much healthcare services should cost nationally, so it is difficult to determine if and how much hospitals and clinics overcharge. Insurers do not reimburse the full charges and health care bills may be inflated ...
December 2017
The Front Lines of the Opioid Epidemic
Opioid prescriptions in the United States have been rising significantly in recent years, leading to a rapid increase in non-medical use and a significant increase in opioid-related deaths. The opioid epidemic has become so severe that the Trump...
November 2017
ER Visits Rise After Medicaid Expansion
Does having health insurance make people more likely to visit the emergency department? This question has important implications for ED capacity, quality of care, and future funding models. Chris Yarzab (Flickr/CC) When the Affordable Care Act (ACA)...
October 2017
Sharing Is Caring
In 2009 Congress passed the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, which amongst other stimulus and savings measures, allocated roughly $26 billion toward investment into health information technology and incentive programs. Health information...
September 2017
Emergency Docs: No Clue about Costs
Emergency department health care professionals (ED HCPs) have a unique role in providing care to patients with emergency medical conditions without regards for the ability to pay. Though this unfunded mandate to treat can be life-saving, the cost...
August 2017
Striking a Balance Between Access and Cost
In the 1970s, the freestanding emergency department (FSED) emerged in rural areas to provide access to emergency care for residents living without a nearby acute care hospital. FSEDs offer emergency medical care at locations independent from...
July 2017
“Everyone Else Ends up Paying the Price”
“When someone without health coverage gets urgent—often expensive—medical care but doesn’t pay the bill, everyone else ends up paying the price.” Source: http://401kcalculator.org (Flickr/CC) This quote reflects the idea that hospitals...
June 2017
ACA Increased Emergency Department Use
As the Affordable Care Act was being implemented, many politicians and health policy experts predicted a decline in ED use, as newly-insured patients would receive care from primary care providers instead of the ED, leading to more efficient and ...
May 2017
Access to Specialists Worse with Medicaid
Increase outpatient services and thereby decrease expensive emergency department visits, or so the popular axiom goes. This only works, however, if there are enough outpatient visits to be had. This study by et al. examines the availability of ...
April 2017
Time to Join the War against High Drug Prices
The cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. is constantly in the news, with the public becoming aware of increasing prices for off-patent drugs from the obscure Daraprim (up almost 5500% overnight from $13.50 to $700 per capsule) to the ...
March 2017
Better for Business
Freestanding emergency departments locate based on payer mix, not community need
The number of freestanding emergency departments (FSED) have been increasing in the past decade. A recent study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine evaluated the geographical and socioeconomic factors of communities where Freestanding emergency departments locate.
January 2017