US Emergency Department Visits for Alcohol-Related Diseases and Injuries Between 1992 and 2000

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Abstract
Healthy People 2010,1 the national health promotion and disease prevention agenda, cites reducing alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits as 1 of its 467 objectives for this decade. Indeed, US public health officials recognize that alcohol misuse is a major public health issue faced by our nation and poses a significant burden on hospital EDs. Emergency departments frequently encounter alcohol-related injuries as consequences of short-term exposure to alcohol as well as alcohol-related diseases as consequences of long-term alcohol use. In addition, public health officials recognize that such alcohol-related ED visits offer opportunities for early intervention and referral of patients for appropriate care, which may reduce subsequent injury, illness, or death.2 Therefore, policy measures that help reduce alcohol-related ED visits and increase early intervention and appropriate referrals at the time of ED visits may subsequently reduce the prevalence of alcohol-related health problems in the United States.

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