In a report, "Nation's Health ...

In a report, "Nation's Health at Risk: Part II," from the National Association of Community Health Center Inc. (NACHC), the data put in mind of that uninsured patients are using hospital unforeseen occasion departments for routine care. According to the report, the number of visits to extremity departments increased from 89.8 million in 1998 to 1102 million in 2002 Between $16 and $8 billion in annual health care sumptuousnesss could be saved if patients with nonurgent, avoidable conditions went to community health center instead. The report attributed the modern trends to a decrease in the number of physicians who accept patients enlisted in Medicaid, as well as a "weakened economy and state store cuts." The full report is available online at http://www.nachc.com/press/nachcreport.asp.

COPYRIGHT 2004 American Academy of Family Physicians

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