From Name: From Email: To Name: To Email: Optional Message: Mortality rates within 30 days of ED visit decline in recent years from News-Medical As policymakers focus on improving healthcare value, there has been increasing attention to emergency department (ED) care, which is often thought to be high cost and of variable quality, according to policymakers and health care leaders. Yet despite rising ED costs and efforts to encourage alternative sources of acute care, such as going to an urgent care clinic or a primary care physician, 1 in 5 Americans visits an ED annually, a number that has continued to rise. However, alongside rising ED utilization has been a national trend toward admitting fewer ED patients to the hospital, as alternative payment models have proliferated and hospital capacity has declined. more 7701 Las Colinas Blvd., Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063