Patient characteristics and the demand for care in two freestanding emergency centers

Because freestanding emergency centers (FECs) represent a new approach to the delivery of health care services, little is known about them and their patient populations. This article reports on a study of 551 systematically sampled users of two commonly owned FECs. It describes the patient population and develops an economic demand model to compare the patients' use of the FECs with their use of other sources of ambulatory care. The typical FEC patient is a 27-year-old white male with at least a high school education. Age, education, and affiliation with a regular source of care most influenced FEC use, whereas health status and affiliation with a regular source best predicted the use of other sources of ambulatory care.