In Face of Overcrowding, Phoenix Emergency Rooms Diverting Patients to Other Facilities

Emergency rooms in the Phoenix area continue to face "chronic overcrowding," forcing many facilities to send patients to other hospitals for treatment, the Associated Press reports. According to a new report from the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, emergency rooms in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, spent 13,014 hours on diversion status in the first half of 2002, up 7% from the same period last year, and 128% from 2000. Sheri Jorden, senior policy director for AHHA, said that several factors contribute to emergency room overcrowding, including shortages of doctors, nurses and hospital beds. With a shortage of doctors, patients often have difficulty scheduling appointments and instead seek care at emergency rooms, Jorden said. In addition, a federal law requiring emergency rooms to treat all patients, regardless of their ability to pay, is creating "big losses," for hospitals in Arizona, which has a large number of undocumented and uninsured residents, Jorden said. She added that low reimbursement rates from private insurers and the federal government also add to the hospitals' financial problems. Dr. Todd Taylor, vice president for public affairs for Arizona College of Emergency Physicians, said that a new state law that expands coverage to low-income Arizona residents may offer some help to the state's hospitals. Under Proposition 204, which took effect in March 2001, the Health Care Cost Containment System, the state's Medicaid program, has extended coverage to 78,000 Arizona residents. Taylor said that the law would allow more patients to receive primary care services instead of expensive emergency care, saving hospitals millions of dollars (Associated Press, 8/10).