News: Outpatient visit volumes recovering faster than ED and inpatient

While outpatient, emergency, and inpatient hospital visit volumes all continue to trend upward, they are recovering unevenly, reported HealthLeaders Media.

The latest analysis of more than 500 hospitals from TransUnion Healthcare reveals outpatient hospital visits bottomed out during the week April 5-11, down 64% from pre-COVID-19 volumes. Since then, outpatient visits have recovered, though they were still down 31% during the week of May 10-16.

Emergency department and inpatient hospital visits are also trending upward but at a slower rate. Emergency department visits recovered 22% of lost volume from April 5-11 through May 10-16 and are now down 40% from pre-COVID-19 volumes.

Inpatient volumes show a 35% return during this time and are down 20% compared to pre-COVID-19 volumes, HealthLeaders Media reported.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in HealthLeaders Media. To read about how these decreased patient volumes impacted hospitals financially, click here. To read about the American Medical Association’s recommendations for reopening medical practices, click here.