The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new report, ?Ambulatory Medical Care Utilization Estimates for 2005,? which contains information on patient visits to emergency departments, outpatient centers and hospitals.
Highlights of the report include:
The emergency department visit rate for patients with no insurance was about twice that of those with private insurance.
Patient visits to physician offices were higher for individuals with private health insurance compared to uninsured persons.
More than 29 percent of all ambulatory care visits were for chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, and one in four were for preventive care, including check-ups, prenatal care, and post-surgical care.
There were 2.4 billion medications prescribed or administered at these visits.