Most hospital emergency departments seem to get busier and more crowded each year, placing ever-greater strains on patients and clinicians. Ricardo Martinez, M.D., suggests that hospital-satellite emergency departments (HSEDs) can offer considerable relief.

He writes in Hospital Impact that they “provide a more distributed access model of emergency care that can be integrated into the healthcare system to relieve the strain on existing EDs and bring emergency care closer to patients.

“HSEDs are structurally separate from a hospital, but offer patients emergency services that are equal to or surpass those at hospital-based facilities. The acuity levels for patients seen in HSEDs are similar to those seen at hospital-based EDs as well (broken bones, burns, chest pain, abdominal pain, pulmonary symptoms, head traumas and concussions). In short, when it comes to treatment, there is little to no difference between the two types, but HSEDs have the ability to provide more accessible and a greater value of care.

“Having multiple HSEDs throughout local communities expands access to emergency medical care for more patients, including those who live far from a centralized hospital system. This type of medical delivery system is already implemented with decentralized imaging centers, laboratories and urgent care centers.”

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