Texas Firearm Injuries: ED Admits Up, Costs Nearly Double
Emergency department visits for firearm injuries in Texas have remained stable from 2016 to 2022, but costs per visit have increased significantly since 2020. Rural counties and communities of color have reported higher rates of firearm injury-related visits. The study highlights a concerning trend of increasing severity in firearm injuries leading to higher admission rates and costs.
- ▪Total charges per emergency department visit for firearm injuries in Texas increased sharply after 2020.
- ▪Hospital admissions for firearm injuries rose by 68% during the study period.
- ▪Unintentional injury and intentional assault accounted for 82% of all firearm injury-related emergency department visits.
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TOPLINE:Although emergency department (ED) visits for firearm injuries in Texas remained stable from 2016 to 2022, total charges per visit increased sharply after 2020 and hospital admissions increased by 68%, with higher ED visit rates reported in rural counties and among communities of color.METHODOLOGY:Researchers analyzed 30,664 ED visits for firearm injuries in Texas from 2016 to 2022 using Public Use Data Files obtained from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.They evaluated the association between county firearm ownership levels and firearm injury-related ED visits, adjusting for patient demographics, insurance status, payer type, race and ethnicity, admission status, and county rurality.Outcomes were firearm injury-related ED visits and total ED charges for firearm…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Medscape.
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