Impact of Demographics on Healthcare Utilization

Authors

  • Andrew Walsh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v7i1.5722

Abstract

The Affordable Care Act is intended to reduce healthcare costs through policy changes. These include expanding healthcare coverage, potentially reducing costly emergency department visits, and reducing hospital readmissions. The feasibility of achieving savings via these routes is in question. Healthcare-seeking behavior is complex; expanding insurance coverage may increase ED usage. This study shows a positive correlation between ED usage and public insurance coverage rates. Readmission rates may be driven by factors beyond the control of hospital policy; this study corroborates that finding. In both cases, data collected automatically for syndromic surveillance is shown to be informative for healthcare policy questions.

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Published

2015-02-26

How to Cite

Walsh, A. (2015). Impact of Demographics on Healthcare Utilization. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v7i1.5722

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2015)

Section

Oral Presentations

License

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