Cost and Prevalence: Chronic Conditions For Emergency Department Visits
The Compounding Effect of Chronic Conditions
The Most Common Chronic Conditions in New Jersey
Cost and Prevalence: Chronic Conditions For Emergency Department Visits
Hospitals in New Jersey spend over $2 billion annually providing emergency care to patients that present in their emergency rooms and are treated, released and not in need of admission to a hospital bed for more advanced treatment or a surgical procedure. In 2017, hospitals in New Jersey serviced 3.1 million of these “treat-and-release” emergency room visits.
Approximately 1.2 million, or 39 percent, of these visits were associated with patients that had one or more of the following chronic conditions as the primary or contributing factor associated with their emergency room visit:
- Hypertension
- Drug/Substance Abuse
- Diabetes
- High Cholesterol
- Asthma
- Anxiety
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Chronic Kidney Disease
- Obesity
- Heart Failure
- Depression
While these 1.2 million patient visits represented 39 percent of the volume, they accounted for 53 percent of the cost associated with emergency department treatments.
Hover over chart to see data.
The Compounding Effect of Chronic Conditions
The average cost of a treat-and-release emergency department visit for a patient that was not compromised by the presence of a chronic condition was approximately $480 per visit.
However, those patients suffering from, or managing, one or more chronic conditions were exponentially costlier. Of all the patient visits with chronic conditions, 83 percent of the treat-and-release patient visits were associated with patients where one or two chronic conditions were present. On average those patient visits were 54 percent costlier than those where no chronic condition was present, with an average cost of $738 per visit.
Sixteen percent of these patients presented in hospital emergency departments with three or four chronic conditions and the cost of care to those patients was 158 percent more expensive than for a patient with no chronic conditions, with the average cost of emergency department care for these patients averaging $1,238 per visit.
Finally, the remaining chronic condition patients were suffering from five or more chronic conditions and their cost of care was 314 percent higher than that of a patient with no chronic conditions. The average cost of care for these patients was $1,986.
Hover over chart to see data.
The Most Common Chronic Conditions in New Jersey
The most common chronic conditions found in New Jersey hospital emergency department treat-and-release patient records were
- Hypertension — 19%
- Drug/Substance Abuse — 12%
- Diabetes — 8%
- High Cholesterol — 8%
- Asthma — 7%
Hover over chart to see data.
Cost and Prevalence: Chronic Conditions For Emergency Department Visits
The Compounding Effect of Chronic Conditions
The Most Common Chronic Conditions in New Jersey
