4C. C
HARACTERISTICSOF
E
MERGENCY
R
OOM
V
ISITS BY
D
ISEASE
C
ATEGORY
,D
IAGNOSISGROUP
,
AND
A
GE
G
ROUP
Figure4C-1
Number of EmergencyRoomVisits by the LeadingDiagnosticGroupings,
ArizonaResidents, 2013
Note: Based on first-listed diagnosis; See Table 4C-2.
During 2013, nearly 2.0million visits
were made by Arizona residents to
hospital emergency rooms (ER),
about 30.2 visits per 100 persons.
The utilization rates vary by
geographic region, with the Western
United States having the lowest ER
visit rate.
In 2013,
abdominal pain, chest pain,
acute upper respiratory infection
,
mental disorders, contusion with
intact skin surfaces
, and
spinal
disorders
were the leading diagnostic
categories, accounting for 22.2
percent of all visits (
Figure 4C-1
,
Table4C-2
).
Both
rheumatism
(33,335 visits) and
fever
(25,634) were among the top
fifteen complaints, symptoms, or
reasons for a visit to the emergency
room.
__________________
Figure4C-2
EmergencyRoomVisits byPayer, ArizonaResidents, 2013
Notes: Number of visits per 100 persons; The actual number of ER visits for each group is provided below the bars.
The Arizona Health Care Cost
Containment System (AHCCCS, the
State?s Medicaid program) was the
most frequently recorded expected
source of payment, accounting for
34.4 percent of ER visits (
Figure
4C-3
). Private insurance was the
second most frequent payer (25.0
percent of ER visits), followed by
self-pay patients (16.6 percent), and
Medicare (13.8 percent).
254
Arizona Health Status and Vital Statistics 2013
