Emergency Department Visits for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions: Acute and Chronic Conditions by County, New Mexico, 2018

Why Is This Important?

Ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) are conditions for which hospitalizations can be prevented or avoided with quality outpatient care from primary care providers. Early intervention by primary care providers can prevent future complications and/or the progression to more severe disease. Studying ACSC related hospitalizations can inform researchers on the quality and timeliness of care residents with ACSC receive from area primary healthcare providers.

Definition

Emergency department visits for ambulatory care sensitive conditions per 100,000 population age 18 or older, age-adjusted. Acute Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSCs) include dehydration, bacterial pneumonia, or urinary tract infection (UTI). Chronic ACSCs include diabetes with short term complications, diabetes with long-term complications, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, heart failure without a cardiac procedure, uncontrolled diabetes without complications, asthma, or diabetes with lower-extremity amputation.

Data Sources

• Emergency Department (ED) dataset, Health Systems Epidemiology Program, New Mexico Department of Health
• New Mexico Population Estimates: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program.
  (http://gps.unm.edu/)

How the Measure is Calculated

Data Issues

• Emergency Department (ED) dataset

  ICD Stands for 'International Classification of Diseases.' It is a coding system maintained by the World Health Organization and the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics and is used to classify diagnoses for hospital and emergency department visits. This coding system underwent a major revision from version 9 (ICD9) to version 10 that went into effect October 1, 2015. In most cases, the two versions do not provide comparable results and the two time periods should not be combined in a trend line. The emergency department data include visits to NON-FEDERAL HOSPITALS only. Visits to Veteran's Administration (VA) facilities and Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities have not been included, unless specifically stated otherwise. The data include all emergency department visits. An individual will be counted more than once if he or she had more than one visit over the time period. The emergency department dataset includes only New Mexico residents hospitalized in New Mexico hospitals, and may undercount injury ED visits of New Mexico residents. In cases of serious injuries near the state borders, oftentimes patients will be transported to a nearby trauma center in the bordering state.

• New Mexico Population Estimates

  All population estimates apply to July 1 of the selected year. These estimates are considered the most accurate estimates for the state of New Mexico and should match those found on the University of New Mexico Geospatial and Population Studies website. Estimates include decimal fractions. Census tract population estimates were summed to produce County and Small Area population estimates. Population estimate totals may vary due to rounding. Population estimates for previous years are occasionally revised as new information becomes available. When publishing trend data, always be sure that your rates for earlier years match current rates on NM-IBIS that have been calculated with the most up-to-date population estimates.

Health Topic Pages Related to: Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions Emergency Department Visits

• Access to Care