Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Visits: A Regional Case Study of Informatics Challenges and Opportunities.
Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In this paper, we examined informatics challenges and opportunities related to emergency department visit data during public health emergencies. We investigated the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the volume and acuity of adult patients visiting the emergency department (ED) of a medical center in Arizona during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. We performed a negative binomial regression analysis to understand how different public health-related mandates and statewide business opening/closing orders in Arizona affected the daily emergency department visits. The results of this study show that the average daily ED visits decreased by 20% during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with the same period in 2019. In addition, the business closure order had the most impact on emergency department visits in comparison to other public health mandates.
Source: PubMed Central
Institutions: University of Arizona, Valleywise Health, HonorHealth
Language: English
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4287461512