Emergency Department Use in Adolescents and Young Adults: The Role of the Well-care Visit

Scherr et al discuss the use of emergency department (ED) by adolescents and young adults (AYAs), particularly well-care visits (WCVs). They reference the study by Holland et al. which explores the relationship between WCVs and ED visits for AYAs. As Holland et al. acknowledge, the analyses identified an association between WCVs and ED visits for AYAs, but conclusions regarding causality or potential mechanisms cannot be made without additional data. ED visits for communicable diseases versus exacerbations of chronic disease versus accidents or injuries would suggest different mechanisms by which WCVs might decrease utilization. The authors propose that policies focused on increasing WCVs may help to decrease ED utilization among AYAs.