Researchers studied the characteristics of less frequent (one to six visits), frequent (seven to 17 visits) and highly frequent (18 and more visits) ED users. They found frequent users accounted for 9.9 percent of all ED visits and highly frequent users were responsible for 3.6 percent of visits.
Factors associated with frequent users were substance abuse and a high number of visits to primary care and specialist physicians. Highly frequent ED users were also likely to have substance abuser problems but were less likely to use non-ED healthcare services compared with frequent users.
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