Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
July 15, 2020 07:00 AM

Volumes rebound slower in the ED than in other hospital areas

Tara Bannow
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Hospitals' outpatient and inpatient volumes recovered significantly in June from their April lows, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced most facilities to suspend procedures, a new report finds.

    Outpatient volumes were back up to 93% of their pre-COVID levels during the last week in June, according to a report from revenue-cycle management provider TransUnion Healthcare, which gleaned data from more than 500 hospitals across the country. Inpatient volumes were 92% of pre-COVID levels during that time, and emergency department visits were 75%. The pre-COVID comparison period was the first eight weeks of the year.

    "They're coming back quicker than I thought," said Jonathan Wiik, the report's author and TransUnion's principal of healthcare strategy.

    But Wiik said he doesn't think volumes will ever reach 100% of their previous levels. Some patients continue to fear returning to medical facilities, and some of those who sought care elsewhere, like telehealth visits or primary-care clinics, or tried to let issues resolve on their own will continue to do that in the future.

    That trend will be even more pronounced in emergency medicine, which Wiik said would actually be a positive outcome of the pandemic. TransUnion's report found that ED visits for low-acuity concerns are returning slower than those for high-acuity concerns. Visits to emergency departments for coughs, for example, are down 82% from pre-COVID levels, while visits for chest pain are down just 24%.

    If that trend continues, it'll pull healthcare costs out of the system and lower costs for employers. ED care is expensive to deliver and is not a cost-effective setting for minor issues, Wiik said.

    "Once you realize that the earache or headache or fever or rash is transient and goes away after a couple of days and maybe did not warrant an emergency room visit, as a patient, you're going to behave differently the next time that symptom presents," he said.

    Emergency department visits have also been the slowest to recover for Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Healthcare. The not-for-profit health system's total business on the provider side was down by about 25% from pre-COVID levels in May. But within that, emergency department visits were still down 40%, said Robert Broermann, Sentara's chief financial officer.

    "We've slowly been recovering, but the emergency department volumes have been trailing," he said. "Which makes sense. The things where you're not sure if it's a life or death situation but the ED is the most convenient place to be, you could naturally see where people are more reluctant to go."

    Also in line with TransUnion's findings, patients who visit Sentara's emergency departments but are not admitted—the low-acuity cases—are still down up to 18% in July, while ED visits for patients who are admitted has "pretty much returned to normal," Broermann said.

    About 70% of 100 health system executives surveyed in mid-June said replacing lost patient volume and revenue was their biggest post-pandemic concern, according to the consultancy Advis.

    TransUnion's report also found adults are returning for emergency department and outpatient visits faster than children. Adult emergency visits were down 16% during the last week in June from the first week in March, compared with 59% for children. On the outpatient side, adult visits were down 5% in that time and children's visits were down 34%.

    Wiik chalks that up to the "mama bear principle": Parents don't want to take their kids in because they're concerned they might contract the coronavirus.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    diversity
    Health equity execs leveraging academic roles to drive long-term change
    Patrick Blair InnovAge
    PACE could expand amid possible nursing home closures: InnovAge CEO
    Most Popular
    1
    Centene to lay off 2,000 workers
    2
    How health systems are battling price-gouging allegations
    3
    Senate advances bill to temporarily aid hospitals, health centers
    4
    Elevance, Blue Cross Louisiana halt $2.5B proposed deal
    5
    Tower Health to sell urgent care centers, close others
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing