The huge growth in visits to emergency departments (ED) has hospitals using a number of treatment innovations including patient tracking software and self-service kiosks that allow patients to input symptoms, according to CMIO, a magazine and website for medical executives.
Between 1997 and 2007, visits to EDs increased from 352.8 visits per 1,000 persons to 390.5 per 1,000 persons, according to research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco. Total annual visits to EDs nationwide increased from an estimated 95 million to more than 115 million, according to researchers.
These researchers are studying data from kiosks placed in emergency rooms and urgent care clinics to expedite diagnosis and treatment of conditions that could be treated at a doctor's office. For instance, women with symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI) answer questions at a kiosk to determine if they are most likely to have a UTI. After reviewing their answers the patients will either be asked to wait for a doctor, or if they are most likely to have a UTI, the kiosk will print out a summary of their illness history and a prescription for antibiotics. A doctor must sign off on the prescription, and the patient can leave the emergency room.
