Study: ER visits at 115 million in 2005

WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) -- U.S. emergency room use hit an unprecedented high in 2005, spiking to 115 million visits, a 5 million-visit jump in one year, says a new study.

In the face of those troubling numbers, an ER doctor group is warning that the ER crisis in the United States is getting worse as more and more ERs have already been forced to close their doors, due to overcrowding.

The American College of Emergency Physicians urged Congress to pass the Access to Emergency Medical Services Act, which would create a national bipartisan commission to study factors that are hurting care in U.S. emergency departments.

"With 315,000 people visiting emergency departments every day, the alarm bells are sounding and policymakers should heed the alert and respond," said Brian Keaton, president of ACEP. "Emergency physicians are dedicated to saving lives. We want to provide quality care to all of our patients, but we need additional resources to be able to deliver that care."

The legislation has been introduced in both the Senate and the House. The Senate bill creates a working group within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to develop boarding and standards for diverting patients, as well as guidelines and incentives for implementing the standards.

The House bill requires hospitals to report to the Department of Health and Human Services statistics on how many patients are boarded in ERs and for how long. The legislation is sponsored by Reps. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Senators Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Arlen Specter, R-Penn.