Healthcare Visit Stats Released

Americans sought care at physician offices and hospitals 1.1 billion times in 2006 — an average of four visits per person per year, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. A series of reports by the National Center for Health Statistics also found:

Half of the visits were primary care doctors, an increase of 17% since 2000, perhaps as a result of managed care

A 26% rise in overall visits since 1996 can be linked to the aging population

In seven of 10 medical visits, at least one medication was provided, prescribed, or continued. Analgesics were the most common therapeutic category, accounting for 13.6% of prescriptions.

EDs served as the route of admission to hospital inpatient services for one-half of nonobstetric hospital patients in 2006, an increase of 36% since 2006

Medicaid patients used the ED at nearly four times the rate of those with private insurance

Most ED visits occurred before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. on weekdays; 63% of adults' emergency visits were off-hours as were 73% of visits by children younger than 15 years

Half of all physician office visits were made by patients with one or more chronic conditions. Hypertension was most frequent, followed by arthritis, high cholesterol, diabetes, and depression.


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