The ED visits are just the end of a long dysfunctional chain that is our healthcare system. If patients had a better relationship with their primary care physician, if doctors still actually made housecalls, if patients were treated in THEIR best interests and not those of the insurance company or institution to 'turf' them as soon as possible then maybe this would ease the burden on facilities by reducing the need for them in the first place AND be cheaper. Remember the old saying about an 'ounce of prevention'.....