Primary care docs rely on ER to evaluate their patients

Hospital admissions from the emergency room increased by 17 percent over seven years, in part because primary care physicians often rely on the emergency physicians to evaluate and hospitalize their most complex and sickest patients, according to a new report from the RAND Corporation. Both physicians and patients rely heavily on emergency care offered at hospitals. The report found four in five people who contacted their primary care physician or other medical provider before seeking emergency care were told to go directly to the ER. Primary care physicians are relying more and more on ER doctors to evaluate and, if necessary, hospitalize their sickest and most complex patients. >> Read the full article at FierceHealthcare