Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/686754
t m c » p u l s e | j u n e 2 0 1 6 33 the issue is nowhere near closed," Linder added. In another problem area, the survey showed nearly half of people who responded visited the ER to seek treatment for non-urgent medical problems, citing doctor's office hours and convenience as key reasons for going outside of their primary care physicians. "This is an astonishingly high number," Garson said. "But it fits with other data, that about 50 percent of people in the emergency department do not need to be there." There are various reasons why frequent ER visits for non-urgent situations continue to be the case— including a lack of doctors accepting Medicaid, inability to take time off work to go to the doctor's office and a nationwide shortage of primary care physicians. Because ERs are open 24/7 and are required to, at the very least, stabilize any and all patients, the surge of patients resorting to the ER is understandable. The survey's statistics shed light on just how prevalent ER use is in an effort to draw attention to the underlying issues that perpetuate this trend, as well as to the need to develop creative solutions that address the ongoing problem from the top down. "The story is that we need to develop better methods to deal with patients after hours," Garson said. "We need better patient education and support for not going to the emergency department." How we achieve that goal, and I personally agree with that, is going to have to be uniquely Texan and the people in Austin are going to have to wrestle with it. I hope that the data from this survey will be of some help. — ARTHUR GARSON, JR., M.D. Director of the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute In addition to Medicaid expansion and ER overcrowding, the survey results also gauged people's opinions on the oft-discussed "fat tax," a surcharge that would be placed upon fattening or sugary food and beverage items aimed at discouraging people from making unhealthy decisions in an effort to reduce obesity rates. The results showed more than half of respondents agreed that foods linked to obesity should be more expensive, with 68 percent of people supporting a $.25 increase for $1 sugary drinks and 63 percent supporting a $2.50 increase for an unhealthy $10 meal. Although overweight and obese respondents were more skeptical that a "fat tax" would help promote healthier eating habits, the fact that a little over half of healthier individuals, 57 percent to be exact, believed such a tax might help could indicate progress. While the Consumer Health Report is intended to present important data around attitudes toward health care coverage, ER usage and obesity, it will ultimately be up to the individual states to decide how they want to apply this information to implement change. "I found the data very interesting, but how [states] want to deal with these issues is going to be in the hands of the governors and the legislators," Garson said. THE SURVEY SHOWED NEARLY HALF OF PEOPLE WHO RESPONDED VISITED THE ER TO SEEK TREATMENT FOR NON-URGENT MEDICAL PROBLEMS. Robert C. Robbins, M.D., president and chief executive officer for the Texas Medical Center (top) and Arthur Garson Jr., M.D., director of the TMC Health Policy Institute (bottom), present the second annual Consumer Health Report at the 2016 Medical World Americas Conference and Expo.