ERs become doctor of choice

Four in 10 of the patients flooding California's dwindling and overtaxed emergency rooms could be treated elsewhere, but can't wait for an appointment with their own doctor, according to a study released Tuesday. Daily News.

The report by the Public Policy Institute of California offers a portrait of the state's emergency rooms, which have decreased by 11 percent since the 1990s but have seen a 10 percent increase in visits.

And those most likely to go to the E.R. for conditions that could be treated at a doctor's office or clinic are Medi-Cal patients - not the uninsured or undocumented, according to the study, which was based on data from 2005, the most recent year available.