ArticleBMC health services research2022
National travel distances for emergency care.
Article in BMC health services research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impacts of Residential Segregation and Comorbidity on Racial Disparities in Acute Care Utilization.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- [Utilisation of emergency departments: Is the emergency level relevant?]Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2026Article
- Availability of behavioral health crisis care and associated changes in emergency department utilization.Health services research · 2025Article
- Effects of Community Assets on Major Health Conditions in England: A Data Analytic Approach.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Choosing a maternity hospital: a matter of travel distance or quality of care?Research in health services & regions · 2024Article
- Quantifying the Impact of Motions on Human Aiming Performance: Evidence from Eye Tracking and Bio-Signals.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Spatial accessibility of emergency medical services in Chongqing, Southwest China.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMost emergency department (ED) patients arrive by their own transport and, for various reasons, may not choose the nearest ED. How far patients travel for ED treatment may reflect both patients' access to care and severity of illness. In this study, we aimed to examine the travel distance and travel time between a patient's home and ED they visited and investigate how these distances/times vary by patient and hospital characteristics.
methodsWe randomly sampled and collected data from 14,812 patients discharged to the community (DTC) between January and March 2016 from 50 hospital-based EDs nationwide. We geocoded and calculated the distance and travel time between patient and hospital-based ED addresses, examined the travel distances/ times between patients' home and the ED they visited, and used mixed-effects regression models to investigate how these distances/times vary by patient and hospital characteristics.
resultsPatients travelled an average of 8.0 (SD = 10.9) miles and 17.3 (SD = 18.0) driving minutes to the ED. Patients travelled significantly farther to avoid EDs in lower performing hospitals (p < 0.01) and in the West (p < 0.05) and Midwest (p < 0.05). Patients travelled farther when visiting EDs in rural areas. Younger patients travelled farther than older patients.
conclusionsUnderstanding how far patients are willing to travel is indicative of whether patient populations have adequate access to ED services. By showing that patients travel farther to avoid a low-performing hospital, we provide evidence that DTC patients likely do exercise some choice among EDs, indicating some market incentives for higher-quality care, even for some ED admissions. Understanding these issues will help policymakers better define access to ED care and assist in directing quality improvement efforts. To our knowledge, our study is the most comprehensive nationwide characterization of patient travel for ED treatment to date.
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