Changes in Emergency Department Visits in the Initial Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Studies suggest patients may be avoiding care in the emergency department (ED), including patients with serious conditions, or seeking other types of urgent care (e.g., telehealth). Although studies have examined the change in the volume of ED visits before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic for certain patient demographic groups and conditions, ^^ little is known about the variation in the type of conditions treated in the ED and change in the percentage of ED visits that result in hospitalization.

Changes in Emergency Department Visits in the Initial Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic, a statistical brief from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) presents data on ED visits.

Highlights

• Overall, the number ED visits across 29 States was lower each month in April-December 2020 compared with the same month in 2019 (e.g., April: 3.8M vs. 7.0M, whereas the ED admission rate was higher (e.g., April: 18.1 vs. 13.4 percent).
• The total number of ED visits decreased by 25.7 percent in April-December 2020 compared with the same months in 2019; the number of ED visits resulting in hospitalization decreased by 9.8 percent over the same period.
• The percentage of COVID-19-related ED visits resulting in hospitalization varied considerably by month and State, with the largest variation in May 2020 and the smallest variation in November and December 2020.
• The number of treat-and-release ED visits associated with firearm-related injuries increased from 30,000 visits during April-December 2019 to 39,700 visits during the same months of 2020.
• The number of treat-and-release ED visits for a first-listed diagnosis of influenza decreased 96.0 percent (from 404,000 to 16,300 visits)

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