CLINICAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS RELATED
TO AMBULANCE USE
Concern about ambulance diversion and emergency department (ED) overcrowding increased scrutiny of ambulance use. At the time of our study, knowledge was limited about clinical and economic factors associated with ambulance use compared to other arrival methods. Our research compared clinical and economic factors associated with different arrival methods to the ED. Our study found that ambulance use was related to severity of injury or illness, age, arrival time, and payer status. Patients arriving by ambulance were more likely to be acutely sick and severely injured and had longer ED length of stay and higher average costs, but they were less likely to have private managed care or to leave the ED against medical advice, compared to patients arriving by independent means.
