August 6, 2010

National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2007 Emergency Department Summary

United States statistics for an estimated 116.8 million emergency department visits in 2007 were compiled by researchers with the Division of Health Care Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, using data from the 2007 National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey. The survey uses a probability sample of visits to emergency departments of non-federal and short-stay hospitals in the United States; the data were weighted to produce annual national estimates. The report focused on statistics related to issues affecting emergency department care identified by the Institute of Medicine in 2006. The issues included overcrowding, lack of specialists for referrals, and gaps in emergency pediatric care. The report also presents data relevant to assessing progress on the Healthy People 2010 objectives.