Where Do Freestanding Emergency Departments Choose to Locate? A National Inventory and Geographic Analysis in Three States.

Study Objective: We determine the number and location of freestanding emergency departments (EDs) across the United States and determine the population characteristics of areas where freestanding EDs are located.

Methods: We conducted a systematic inventory of US freestanding EDs. For the 3 states with the highest number of freestanding EDs, we linked demographic, insurance, and health services data, using the 5-digit ZIP code corresponding to the freestanding ED's location.