Impact of COVID-19 on Chronic Ambulatory-Care-Sensitive Condition Emergency Department Use Among Older Adults.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic social distancing requirements encouraged patients to avoid public spaces including in-office health care visits. Ambulatory-care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs) represent conditions that can be managed with quality primary care and when access is limited, these conditions can lead to avoidable emergency department (ED) visits. Using national data on ED visits from 2019 to 2021 in the National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey, we examined the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on ACSC ED visits among older adults (aged ≥65). The proportion of ED visits among older adults that were for ACSCs increased between 2019 (17.4%) and 2021 (18.5%). The trend in both rural (26.4%-28.6%) and urban areas (15.4%-16.8%) shows a significant jump from 2019 to 2021 (<i>P < .001</i>). This rise in ACSC ED use is consistent with a delay in normal primary care during the pandemic.