Health services use associated with emergency department closure

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Public Health Policy
• Healthcare Access

Background:

• Local emergency service availability significantly impacts healthcare access.
• Understanding population health service utilization is crucial for effective resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess changes in health service consumption after a substantial reduction in local emergency services.
• To compare healthcare utilization patterns in a small municipality with reduced emergency services against a control population.

Main Methods:

• A dynamic cohort study followed 21,000 residents in Viborg County, Denmark (1997-2003).
• Data from administrative registries tracked individual use of emergency services, hospital care, and general practitioner (GP) contacts.
• Health service use in Morsø municipality was analyzed before, during, and after reduced emergency room opening hours, compared to the rest of Viborg County.

Main Results:

• No significant change in emergency service utilization was observed for Morsø residents compared to the county.
• Morsø men did not alter their use of substitute health services compared to county men.
• Morsø women significantly reduced their use of GP services (face-to-face, telephone, home visits) and inpatient hospital utilization compared to county women.

Conclusions:

• Neighboring hospital emergency services partially compensated for the reduced local provision.
• Significant gender-specific changes in healthcare utilization patterns emerged following the reduction in local emergency services.