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Article: Cost containment in emergency departments.
- Article from:
- Healthcare Financial Management
- Article date:
- February 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Healthcare Financial Management Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Although emergency departments are a social good for the communities they serve, they pose a dilemma for hospital management. Unlike most hospital departments, which are expected to break even or turn a profit, emergency departments traditionally have been run as a service to the community without much concern for the bottom line. Management's efforts to improve the service, quality, and cost effectiveness of hospital operations have focused on areas such as wards and surgical suites. In emergency departments, cost containment has been a secondary consideration.
In the current era of managed care, reduced reimbursement, under-insurance, and under-employment, some ...