In this paper, we examined informatics challenges and opportunities related to emergency department visit data during public health emergencies. We investigated the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the volume and acuity of adult patients visiting the emergency department (ED) of a medical center in Arizona during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. We performed a negative binomial regression analysis to understand how different public health-related mandates and statewide business opening/closing orders in Arizona affected the daily emergency department visits. The results of this study show that the average daily ED visits decreased by 20% during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with the same period in 2019. In addition, the business closure order had the most impact on emergency department visits in comparison to other public health mandates.
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