FierceHealthcare Source Article | Comments from Matt Zavadsky

The findings in the referenced study could be due to a myriad of reasons – Many EMS agencies have protocols that determine patient destinations – including patient preference.

Two seemingly most important quotes:

Although proximity is important, previous studies reveal that the capabilities of an ED are also significant when EMS or patients make decisions about which ED to visit. For example, patients with a history of using inpatient care at a specific hospital may prefer to be transported to their so-called "home ED."

The study also supports the idea that family or patient choice of ED may have a big impact on transport. Although data were not given specifically for ED destination by patient preferability, there was considerable overlap in the ED destination patterns of EMS transports and walk-ins (61.3% versus 52.9%), supporting this notion that patients have a choice in their destination hospital.

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White Medicare patients transported to closest ED more often than blacks, Hispanics

by Jacqueline Renfrow 

Sep 6, 2019

White Medicare patients are more likely to be transported to the closest emergency department (ED) than their black or Hispanic counterparts, according to a new study out of Boston University’s School of Medicine.

Researchers recently set out to discover whether black and Hispanic Medicare patients are likely to be transported by emergency medical services (EMS) to the same emergency departments as white Medicare patients living in the same area—and to the closest available ED, according to proper protocol.

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