Drinkers Incur More Costs, Stay Longer in ER

The social and economic costs of drunk driving are well documented, but a new study from Rhode Island Hospital finds that even minimally impaired drivers incur higher-than-average costs when they land in hospital emergency rooms, Science Daily reported Oct. 7.

Researcher Michael Lee, M.D., of the Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital and colleagues found that drivers with any detectable alcohol in their system incurred $4,538 more in treatment costs and stayed in the emergency room an average of 3.3 hours longer than patients who did not have alcohol in their system. “The magnitudes are striking for this minimally injured population,” said Lee. “This represents a burden of alcohol-impaired driving that was underreported in the past.”

The study focused on 1,618 drivers ages 18 to 65 who were treated at a Level 1 Trauma Center and discharged directly home from the emergency room rather than admitted to the hospital — the typical outcome for 80 percent of alcohol-impaired drivers treated in emergency departments (EDs).

“A large percentage of [the] cost can be directly correlated to a higher frequency of and costlier diagnostic imaging studies. Imaging itself represents 69 percent of the charge differential,” said Lee. “While an alcohol-impaired driver may be treated for only minor injuries and discharged to home, there is still a considerably higher cost to treat that patient in an ED. Further, the time spent on them with a longer length of stay results in delays for other patients who need care in an ED.”

The findings were reported in the October 2009 issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine.