U.S. emergency departments recorded an estimated 155.4 million visits in 2022, equal to 47.3 visits per 100 people. These emergency departments served patients with injuries, respiratory symptoms, pain, chronic conditions and mental, behavioral or neurodevelopmental disorders. The figures below describe visit patterns, not unique people: one patient can account for more than one visit.
Table of contents
- Overall emergency department volume
- Who uses emergency departments
- Arrival, triage and time in the department
- Reasons for visits and diagnoses
- Injuries, conditions and procedures
- Admissions, transfers and follow-up
Overall emergency department volume
The National Center for Health Statistics estimated 155.4 million U.S. emergency department visits in 2022. The corresponding national visit rate was 47.3 visits per 100 people. Because the rate is expressed per 100 people while the volume counts visits, the two measures should not be interpreted as the number of individual patients.
Age patterns varied substantially. Patients younger than 15 accounted for 26.421 million visits, or 17.0% of all emergency department visits. Infants younger than 1 year accounted for 3.597 million visits and had a rate of 98.9 visits per 100 infants. Children ages 1–4 accounted for 9.688 million visits, with a rate of 65.2 visits per 100 children.
Adults ages 25–44 accounted for the largest stated age-group volume in these figures: 39.568 million visits, or 25.5% of all visits. People ages 65 and older accounted for 32.935 million visits and had a rate of 58.4 visits per 100 people.
The CDC’s Emergency Department Visits summary reports the overall 2022 volume and injury-related estimates. The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey provides the detailed visit characteristics used throughout this article. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2022 Emergency Department Summary Tables and CDC Emergency Department Visits.
Who uses emergency departments
Most visits began at a private residence. Patients from private residences accounted for 146.144 million visits, or 94.1% of the 2022 total. Nursing-home residents accounted for 2.966 million visits, or 1.9%, while homeless patients accounted for 1.964 million visits, or 1.3%.
Emergency departments in large central metropolitan areas accounted for 45.667 million visits, or 29.4% of U.S. visits. This is a location category for the department, not a measure of the patient’s individual residence.
The survey also reported race categories for visits. White patients accounted for 108.405 million visits, or 69.8%. Black or African American patients accounted for 40.006 million visits, or 25.7%, and had a rate of 90.4 visits per 100 people. Visit counts and rates measure healthcare use; they do not by themselves explain differences in health status, access, insurance coverage or other causes.
Expected payment sources also differed across visits. Medicaid, CHIP or another state-based program was listed for 62.562 million visits, or 40.3%. Private insurance was listed for 46.268 million visits, or 29.8%, and Medicare for 34.221 million visits, or 22.0%.
Two additional measures describe recent use over a longer period. About 5% of U.S. children under age 18 had two or more hospital emergency department visits in the previous 12 months during 2019–2022. About 20% of U.S. adults age 18 and older had a hospital emergency department visit in the previous 12 months during the same 2019–2022 period. These estimates come from Emergency Department Visit Rates by Selected Characteristics: United States, 2022, whose measurement period should not be confused with the 2022 visit-count tables.
Arrival, triage and time in the department
Ambulance arrivals represented 17.0% of emergency department visits in 2022, or 26.492 million visits. Ambulance use was higher among older patients: people ages 65 and older arrived by ambulance for 33.4% of their visits, while people ages 75 and older did so for 39.6%.
The time to be seen by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant varied across visits.
| Time to see a physician, APRN or PA | Share of 2022 ED visits |
|---|---|
| Within 15 minutes | 40.6% |
| 15–59 minutes | 29.7% |
| 1 to under 2 hours | 9.0% |
| 4 to under 6 hours | 1.0% |
| 6 hours or more | 0.6% |
These categories do not cover every stated interval in the source table, so the listed percentages should not be added as if they were a complete distribution. Total time in the department was under 1 hour for 8.0% of visits, 1 to under 2 hours for 18.4%, and 2 to under 4 hours for 33.1%.
Triage classified 1.0% of visits as level 1, or immediate, and 10.1% as level 2, or emergent. Triage level is a clinical urgency classification at arrival; it is not a prediction of the final diagnosis or outcome.
Reasons for visits and diagnoses
Stomach or abdominal pain, cramps and spasms were the principal reason for 13.055 million visits, or 8.4%, in 2022. Chest pain and related symptoms were the principal reason for 8.354 million visits, or 5.4%.
Several respiratory and systemic symptoms each represented about 3.8% of visits. Cough was the principal reason for 5.973 million visits, shortness of breath for 5.892 million, and fever for 5.830 million.
The primary diagnosis groups provide a broader view than individual symptoms. Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical or laboratory findings were the primary diagnosis group for 39.550 million visits, or 25.5%. Injury, poisoning and other consequences of external causes accounted for 24.772 million visits, or 15.9%.
Diseases of the respiratory system accounted for 13.783 million visits, or 8.9%. Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue accounted for 10.955 million, or 7.0%. Mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders accounted for 5.937 million visits, or 3.8%.
The reason for a visit and the primary diagnosis group are different measures. A symptom such as chest pain can lead to evaluation for more than one possible condition, while a diagnosis group describes the condition or finding recorded for the visit after clinical assessment.
Injuries, conditions and procedures
The CDC estimated 43.457 million injury, poisoning and adverse-effect visits in 2022, or 27.9% of all emergency department visits. Within that category, unintentional injuries accounted for 26.190 million visits, or 60.3%. Falls accounted for 10.927 million injury, poisoning and adverse-effect visits, or 25.1% of that category. All transportation mechanisms accounted for 4.808 million, or 11.1%.
Assault accounted for 1.814 million visits, or 4.2% of injury, poisoning and adverse-effect visits. Self-harm accounted for 616,000 visits, or 1.4%. These percentages use the injury, poisoning and adverse-effect category as their denominator, rather than all emergency department visits.
Chronic conditions were recorded at many emergency department visits. Asthma was recorded at 14.667 million visits, or 9.4%, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 8.865 million, or 5.7%.
One or more listed procedures were performed at 63.995 million visits, or 41.2%. Intravenous fluids were administered at 41.358 million visits, or 26.6%. Nebulizer therapy was provided at 4.346 million visits, or 2.8%. A listed procedure is an activity recorded for the visit; it does not indicate that every patient received the same treatment or that a procedure was the only intervention.
Admissions, transfers and follow-up
Most emergency department visits did not result in hospital admission. Patients were admitted to the hospital from 17.803 million visits, or 11.5%, in 2022. Admission to a critical-care unit occurred from 3.105 million visits, or 2.0%, while admission to an observation unit occurred from 3.896 million visits, or 2.5%.
Some visits ended with transfer. Patients were transferred to another hospital from 2.135 million visits, or 1.4%, and transferred to a psychiatric hospital from 1.569 million visits, or 1.0%.
An estimated 480,000 patients died in the emergency department, representing 0.3% of visits in 2022. This is an estimate reported for visits and should not be read as a measure of deaths among unique patients.
Return or referral to a physician or clinic for follow-up was recorded for 110.925 million visits, or 71.4%. Patients left without being seen in 2.935 million visits, or 1.9%. Patients left before treatment was complete in 2.184 million visits, or 1.4%, and left against medical advice in 1.942 million visits, or 1.2%.
Together, these disposition figures show several different pathways after an emergency department encounter: hospital care, critical or observation care, transfer, outpatient follow-up, death in the department, or departure before the recorded care process was complete. The measures describe 2022 visit outcomes and do not establish why a particular disposition occurred.