HIV testing at visits to US emergency departments: 2021 update.

In this updated cross-sectional analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, we found that among the 2.5 million more weighted emergency department (ED) visits in 2021 compared with 2020, there was an insignificant increase in HIV testing per ED visit in 2021 compared with 2020 (0.81% to 0.86%). This suggests HIV testing during ED visits did not increase in line with rebounding visit volumes after the pandemic nadir.

Characteristics of California Emergency Departments in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Designated HIV Priority Counties.

BACKGROUND: Refocused national HIV testing initiatives include a geographic focus. OBJECTIVE: Using a geographic focus, we sought to identify which emergency departments (EDs) might be the most efficient targets for future HIV testing efforts, using California as an example. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of California EDs, emergency physicians, and patients served, along with county-level estimates of HIV prevalence and proportion of the population living in poverty. Emphasis was placed on characterizing EDs affiliated with teaching hospitals and those located in Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention HIV priority counties. RESULTS: Of the 320 EDs studied, 178 were in priority counties, 29 were affiliated with teaching hospitals, and 24 had both characteristics. Of the 12,869,889 ED visits included, 61.8% occurred in priority counties, 14.7% in EDs affiliated with teaching hospitals, and 12.0% in EDs with both characteristics. The subset of EDs in priority counties with teaching hospital affiliations (compared with priority and nonpriority county ED groups without a teaching hospital affiliation) had higher overall median visit volumes and higher proportions of visits by at-risk and CDC-targeted populations (e.g., individuals who were homeless, those who identified as Black or African American race, and those who identified as Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, all p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: EDs in priority counties affiliated with teaching hospitals are major sources of health care in California. These EDs more often serve populations disproportionately impacted by HIV. These departments are efficient targets to direct testing efforts. Increasing testing in these EDs could reduce the burden of undiagnosed HIV in California.

United States 2020 Emergency Medicine Resident Workforce Analysis.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To characterize the emergency medicine resident physician workforce and the residency programs training them. METHODS: We identified emergency medicine residents in the 2020 American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Masterfile, analyzed demographic information, mapped both county-level population-adjusted and hospital referral region densities, and compared 2020 versus 2008 resident physician densities. We also analyzed all Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited emergency medicine residency programs from 2013 to 2020, mapped state-level population-adjusted densities, and identified temporal trends in program location and state-level program densities. All population-adjusted densities were calculated using the US Census Bureau resident population estimates. RESULTS: There were 6,993 emergency medicine residents in the 2020 AMA dataset with complete information. Most of them (98%) were in urban areas. Compared with 2008, per 100,000 US population, this represents disproportionate increases in urban areas (total [0.5], urban [0.5], large rural [0.2] and small rural [0.05]). We further identified 160 (2013) to 265 (2020) residency programs using the ACGME data. The new programs were 3-year training programs that were disproportionately added to states with an already higher number of programs (Florida [5 to 19], Michigan [11 to 25], New York [21 to 31], Ohio [9 to 18], Pennsylvania [12 to 21], California [14 to 22]). CONCLUSION: The number of emergency medicine residency programs has increased; most new programs were added to the states that already had emergency medicine residency programs. There is an emergency physician "desert" in the rural United States, lacking both residents and residency training programs. This analysis provides essential context to the ongoing conversation about the future of the emergency physician workforce.

Geographic Distribution of Accredited Paramedic Education Programs in the United States.

Background: The geographic distribution and access to paramedic education programs is unclear but often cited as a reason for emergency medical services (EMS) workforce shortages. Our aims were: 1) to examine the spatial distribution of accredited paramedic programs and 2) to compare characteristics of communities with and without existing programs. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of US paramedic education programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs as of April 2020. Program locations were geocoded to county, and population estimates from the US Census Bureau were used to determine the adult population within the program's potential catchment area (30, 50, and 100 miles). Clustering of programs was examined using Moran's I. We compared community characteristics obtained from the 2018 American Community Survey, 2018-2019 Area Health Resources Files, and 2018 National Emergency Department Inventory between counties with and without programs. Logistic regression models were used to determine associations of community characteristics and existence of a paramedic program, controlling for urbanicity. Results: There were 790 paramedic program locations in the US, located in 596/3142 (19%) counties. Every state, except Rhode Island and Washington, DC, had at least one paramedic program site. The population within potential catchment areas ranged from 182 million (30 miles) to 248 million (100 miles), representing 73% to 99% of the US adult population, respectively. However, among counties classified as rural (n = 644), this decreased to 22% (30 miles) to 95% (100 miles). There was significant clustering of programs (p < 0.001). There were significantly higher odds of having a paramedic program for counties classified as metro compared to non-metro (OR 4.42, 95% CI 3.60-5.42) and with the presence of healthcare resources (e.g., emergency department in the county: OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.87-3.14). Conclusions: Approximately 73% of the US adult population lives within 30 miles of an existing paramedic education program; however, this decreases to 22% in rural areas. Geographic barriers to accessing paramedic education remain a challenge for ongoing efforts to address the rural EMS workforce shortage.

Periocular Facial Scald Burns in Children: Is Ophthalmology Consultation Necessary?

OBJECTIVES: Criteria that predict the need for ocular injury treatment in children who suffer periocular facial scald burns are not known. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and management of ocular injuries among children sustaining facial scald burns and to determine predictors of injuries requiring additional treatment. METHODS: Children treated at a burn center with periocular facial scald burns were analyzed. Patient and injury profiles were compared between those evaluated and not evaluated by an ophthalmologist. Factors associated with an ocular injury requiring treatment were determined, and treatment differences before and after ophthalmology consultation were evaluated. RESULTS: Seventy-three children with facial scald burns were identified, none with a full-thickness injury. Thirteen children had ocular findings on examination including corneal abrasion, conjunctivitis, scleral burn, and chemosis of the conjunctiva. Twenty-three patients received erythromycin ointment, only 8 of whom had a documented ocular injury. Children seen by an ophthalmologist (n = 24) more often had a positive finding on examination (37.5% vs 8.2%, P = 0.007) and received treatment (66.7% vs 14.3%, P < 0.001). Only 4 patients had modification in their treatment plan after consultation, 3 of whom were started on treatment despite not having a positive finding on examination. CONCLUSIONS: Ocular injury after periocular facial scald burns is an infrequent finding. Among children with partial-thickness periocular facial scald burns, initial evaluation and treatment without ophthalmology consultation are appropriate. Ophthalmic antibiotic ointment is an appropriate initial treatment in most symptomatic patients, with ophthalmologic consultation being limited to children without symptomatic improvement.

National Study of the Emergency Physician Workforce, 2020.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We describe the current US emergency physician workforce. METHODS: We analyzed the 2020 American Medical Association Physician Masterfile data set. All physicians who designated emergency medicine as their primary or secondary specialty were included; nonactive physicians, residents, primarily research or teaching faculty, or those primarily involved in administration or nonclinical work were excluded. We calculated emergency physician population density, using 2018 Census Bureau estimates of the US population; urban-rural assignments were based on Urban Influence Codes. We compared 2020 results with our previous analysis of the 2008 emergency physician workforce. Again, we were unable to account for American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine certification. RESULTS: There were 48,835 clinically active emergency physicians in 2020. The median age was 50 years (interquartile range [IQR] 41 to 62 years) and 28% were women. Overall density of emergency physicians per 100,000 population was 14.9. Most emergency physicians were in urban areas (92%), whereas 2,730 (6%) were in large rural areas and 1,197 (2%) in small rural areas. Urban emergency physicians were younger (median age 50 years; IQR 41 to 61 years) than those in large rural areas (median age 58 years; IQR 47 to 67 years) or small rural areas (median age 62 years; IQR 51 to 68 years), and more likely to be women (29%, 20%, and 19%, respectively). Most emergency physicians in small rural areas (71%) completed their medical training more than 20 years ago. Compared with 2008, the total number of clinically active emergency physicians has increased by 9,774, but, per 100,000 US population in 2020, emergency physician density decreased in both large rural (-0.4) and small rural (-3.7) areas. CONCLUSION: Urban emergency physicians in 2020 remain substantially younger than rural emergency physicians, with many rural ones near the US retirement age. We did not observe a continued increase in the percentage of female physicians among emergency physicians. Given the ongoing demand for physicians in all US emergency departments, this analysis provides essential information for understanding the current emergency physician workforce and the challenges ahead.

Estimates of HIV testing at visits to United States emergency departments.

OBJECTIVES: Emergency department-based HIV testing rates are historically low, but recent testing trends surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and launch of the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative are unknown. The objective of the study is to estimate recent trends in the proportion of emergency department visits that included HIV testing. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), a weighted nationally representative survey of US emergency departments, from 2014 to 2020. Given EHE's focus on several rural Southern jurisdictions as well as populations disproportionately affected by HIV, we stratified by characteristics including US region and visit-listed race and ethnicity. RESULTS: The proportion of emergency department visits that included HIV testing increased from 2014 (0.6%) to 2018 (1.1%) but was lower in 2019 and 2020 (0.8%). Compared with other regions, the South had the lowest rates of testing in both 2019 (0.6%) and 2020 (0.5%); testing rates in the nonmetropolitan South remained 0.1% or less across all years. Testing rates for emergency department visits by persons who identified as Hispanic/Latino were highest in 2018 (2.2%) but were sharply lower in 2019 and 2020 (0.8%). CONCLUSION: After a small but insufficient increase in emergency department-based HIV testing since 2014, rates decreased between 2018 and 2019 and were stable between 2019 and 2020. Overall, very few emergency department visits during our entire study period included an HIV test, and there were persistently low rates of HIV testing for populations prioritized in national efforts and during visits in rural jurisdictions in the South.

Comparison of US emergency departments by HIV priority jurisdiction designation: A case for geographically targeted screening in teaching hospitals.

The Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative targets a subset of United States (US) priority jurisdictions hardest hit by HIV. It remains unclear which emergency departments (EDs) are the most appropriate targets for EHE-related efforts. To explore this, we used the 2001-2019 National Emergency Department Inventories (NEDI)-USA as a framework to characterize all US EDs, focusing on those in priority jurisdictions and those affiliated with a teaching hospital. We then incorporate multivariable regression to explore the association between ED characteristics and location in an HIV priority jurisdiction. Further, to provide context on the communities these EDs serve, demographic and socioeconomic information and sexually transmitted infection case rate data were included. This reflected 2019 US Census Bureau data on age, race, ethnicity, and proportion uninsured and living in poverty along with 2001-2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case rate data on chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. We found that EDs in priority jurisdictions (compared to EDs not in priority jurisdictions) more often served populations emphasized in HIV-related efforts (i.e., Black or African American or Hispanic or Latino populations), communities with higher proportions uninsured and living in poverty, and counties with higher rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Further, of the groups studied, EDs with teaching hospital affiliations had the highest visit volumes and had steady visit volume growth. In regression, ED annual visit volume was associated with an increased odds of an ED being located in a priority jurisdiction. Our results suggest that geographically targeted screening for HIV in a subset of US priority jurisdiction EDs with a teaching hospital affiliation could be an efficient means to reach vulnerable populations and reduce the burden of undiagnosed HIV in the US.

HIV Testing at Visits to US Emergency Departments, 2018.

BACKGROUND: An early HIV diagnosis improves patient outcomes, reduces the burden of undiagnosed HIV, and limits transmission. There is a need for an updated assessment of HIV testing rates in the emergency department (ED). SETTING: The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey sampling ED visits were weighted to give an estimate of ED visits across all US states in 2018. METHODS: We analyzed patients aged 13-64 years without known HIV and estimated ED visits with HIV testing and then stratified by race, ethnicity, and region. Descriptive statistics and mapping were used to illustrate and compare patient, visit, and hospital characteristics for visits with HIV testing. RESULTS: Of 83.0 million weighted visits to EDs in 2018 by patients aged 13-64 years without a known HIV infection (based on 13,237 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey sample visits), HIV testing was performed in 1.05% of visits. HIV testing was more frequent for patients aged 13-34 years compared with that for patients aged 35-64 years (1.32% vs. 0.82%, P = 0.056), Black patients compared with that for White and other patients (1.73% vs. 0.79% and 0.41%, P = 0.002), Hispanic or Latino patients compared with that for non-Hispanic or Latino patients (2.18% vs. 0.84%, P = 0.001), and patients insured by Medicaid compared with that for patients insured by private or other insurance (1.71% vs. 0.64% and 0.96%, P = 0.003). HIV testing rates were the highest in the Northeast (1.72%), followed by the South (1.05%). CONCLUSIONS: HIV testing occurred in a minority of ED visits. There are differences in rates of HIV testing by race, ethnicity, and location. Although rates of testing have increased, rates of ED-based HIV testing remain low.

National Study on the Contribution of Family Physicians to the US Emergency Physician Workforce in 2020.

BACKGROUND: Family physicians provide a sizable portion of emergency care in the United States. However, there is limited work characterizing this population. METHODS: We completed a cross-sectional analysis of the 2020 American Medical Association Physician Masterfile that was inclusive of all clinically active physicians who designated emergency medicine as their primary or secondary specialty and had family medicine residency training and/or family medicine board certification. We used Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education information to determine family medicine residency training and data from the American Board of Medical Specialties to determine family medicine board certification status. We calculated physician density using US Census Bureau estimates; urban-rural assignments were based on Urban Influence Codes. RESULTS: We identified 4354 clinically active emergency physicians (9% of the overall emergency physician workforce). Of these, a majority were male (88%) and completed their training at least 20 years ago (84%), and a majority (59%) reported emergency medicine as their primary specialty. There is notable variation in physician density per 100,000 US population, and these densities declined compared with prior estimates from 2008. CONCLUSIONS: We find that family physicians represent a sizable portion of the overall emergency physician workforce despite decreases in physician densities across the United States.

Supply and Demand of Emergency Medicine Board-certified Emergency Physicians by U.S. State, 2017.

OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to estimate the emergency medicine board-certified emergency physician (EMBC EP) workforce supply and demand by U.S. state. METHODS: To estimate state demand, we applied the methodology from our 2005 analysis to calculate full-time equivalent (FTE) EMBC EP demand for each emergency department (ED). The 2017 National Emergency Department Inventory-USA provided visit volumes for all EDs, while the American Board of Medical Specialties supplied the 2017 number of EMBC EPs per state. Assuming that at least one EMBC EP should be present 24/7 in each ED (requiring 5.35 FTEs minimum), we calculated the total FTEs required by dividing each ED's visit volume by the estimated average visits seen by an EMBC EP (3,548 visits per year) and then summed FTEs by state. The U.S. Census Bureau provided state demographic characteristics. We used multivariable linear regression to examine the association between state demographics and the density of EMBC EPs per state and compared 2017 results to our prior 2005 analysis. RESULTS: There were 40,716 total EMBC EPs in 2017, fulfilling 77% of the estimated national demand. This was a substantial increase from 23,035 total EMBC EPs fulfilling 58% of demand in 2005. The 2017 supply ranged from 24% of demand in North Dakota to 142% in Hawaii. A lower density of EMBC EPs was associated with states in the Midwest and South (p < 0.001) and with a more rural population (p = 0.02). The absolute shortage of EMBC EPs worsened or remained the same in one-fourth of states. CONCLUSION: While the total number of EMBC EPs nearly doubled between 2005 and 2017, a shortage of full-time coverage persists. The supply and demand vary greatly by state. Worsening absolute shortages in several states show that the distribution of EMBC EPs is not meeting demand across the United States, particularly in rural areas.

Evaluation of the 2020 Pediatric Emergency Physician Workforce in the US.

Importance: Given the mortality disparities among children and adolescents in rural vs urban areas, the unique health care needs of pediatric patients, and the annual emergency department volume for this patient population, understanding the availability of pediatric emergency physicians (EPs) is important. Information regarding the available pediatric EP workforce is limited, however. Objective: To describe the demographic characteristics, training, board certification, and geographic distribution of the 2020 clinically active pediatric EP workforce in the US. Design, Setting, and Participants: This national cross-sectional study of the 2020 pediatric EP workforce used the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile database, which was linked to American Board of Medical Specialties board certification information. Self-reported training data in the database were analyzed to identify clinically active physicians who self-reported pediatric emergency medicine (EM) as their primary or secondary specialty. The Physician Masterfile data were obtained on March 11, 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures: The Physician Masterfile was used to identify all clinically active pediatric EPs in the US. The definition of EM training was completion of an EM program (inclusive of both an EM residency and/or a pediatric EM fellowship) or a combined EM program (internal medicine and EM, family medicine and EM, or pediatrics and EM). Physician location was linked and classified by county-level Urban Influence Codes. Pediatric EP density was calculated and mapped using US Census Bureau population estimates. Results: A total of 2403 clinically active pediatric EPs were working in 2020 (5% of all clinically active emergency physicians), of whom 1357 were women (56%) and the median (interquartile range) age was 46 (40-55) years. The overall pediatric EP population included 1718 physicians (71%) with EM training and 641 (27%) with pediatric training. Overall, 1639 (68%) were board certified in pediatric EM, of whom 1219 (74%) reported EM training and 400 (24%) reported pediatrics training. Nearly all pediatric EPs worked in urban areas (2369 of 2402 [99%]), and pediatric EPs in urban compared with rural areas were younger (median [interquartile range] age, 46 [40-55] years vs 59 [48-65] years). Pediatric EPs who completed their training 20 years ago or more compared with those who completed training more recently were less likely to work in urban settings (633 [97%] vs 0-4 years: 440 [99%], 5-9 years: 547 [99%], or 10-19 years: 723 [99%]; P = .006). Three states had 0 pediatric EPs (Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming), and 3 states had pediatric EPs in only 1 county (Alaska, New Mexico, and North Dakota). Less than 1% of counties had 4 or more pediatric EPs per 100 000 population. Conclusions and Relevance: This study found that almost all pediatric EPs worked in urban areas, leaving rural areas of the US with limited availability of pediatric emergency care. This finding may have profound implications for children and adolescents needing emergency care.