Hospital location as a determinant of emergency room utilization patterns.

The use of the emergency rooms of three private, acute care, nonprofit hospitals was investigated in relation to each hospital's location. The emergency room of the hospital located in an urban poverty area served as the "poor man's doctor," whereas the emergency rooms of the two hospitals in more affluent areas served more traditional emergency room patients. Investigation showed that even when patient populations were similar in demographic characteristics, the hospitals' locations influenced emergency room utilization patterns. Thus, one emergency room is not the same as another, and one standard model for dealing with emergency room issues will not work in every facility.