Already-strained emergency departments are not only projected to experience more volume in the near future, but also more clinical cases requiring immediate attention, according to a Vizient Sg2 report published Oct. 15.
Vizient, which works with hundreds of U.S. hospitals and other healthcare providers, estimates a 5% increase in ED visits between 2025 and 2035. Urgent visits are projected to remain stagnant while emergent cases — those requiring immediate action — are expected to rise 8% over the decade.
Over the past year, emergent visits increased 6% while urgent visits stabilized. Sixty-five percent of ED visits between the third quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2025 were emergent.
“While urgent visits have stabilized, continued efforts to redirect low-acuity patients to alternative care sites remain essential to improving ED throughput and preserving capacity for higher-acuity cases,” the report said.
There are several implications related to the rise in emergent visits. For example, the average length of stay for these cases is 2.2 times higher than the LOS for urgent visits. Emergent LOS averages 5.3 hours, while urgent averages 2.4 hours, according to Vizient.
Payer mix also plays an important role. Patients with Medicare, which historically pays below the cost of care, account for 29% of ED visits but half of inpatient admissions.
Vizient outlined several mitigation strategies, including expanding ambulatory services, such as extending operating hours of urgent care centers and creating freestanding EDs; addressing behavioral health needs with targeted urgent care; and utilizing analytics to anticipate surges.
