Reflections on Mortality and Uncertainty in Emergency Medicine

Smith et al discuses the study by Burke and colleagues on mortality and uncertainty in emergency medicine. The team found that the mortality rate declined considerably among Medicare beneficiaries who had visited an emergency department (ED) from 2009 to 2016, particularly in patients with high-severity conditions. Given the limits of observational studies, the cause of the lower mortality rate is unknown. We suspect that both EM proponents and detractors will use the study's analysis to validate their own health care policy conclusions.