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ER Care - What do you think?

By illinoismel - Jul 4th, 2008 at 4:18 pm EDT

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Over the span of my life, I have noticed the trend in ER visits change drastically. There was once a point in time when the only visit to the ER was a life threatening issue, a car accident, broken bones or someone requiring stitches. Those were the some of the reasons you went to the ER.

Now today, I have seen and heard of people going into the ER for non life threatening issues such as earaches and flu like symptoms. My question is why? Why do physicians tell patients to go to the ER instead of trying to work them into their office? Why do you walk into almost any ER in this country and find it full of people waiting for hours on end to get seen? A lady I work with started having chest pains a couple of weeks ago at work and we took her right over there. She got there at 10:30 am and wasn't seen by a physician until almost 4:00 pm. There is something seriously wrong here people and I just would like to know some of your opinions and I would like to know why people go to the ER for an earache.

Reader Comments

because

By Lincoln Park Dem Jul 4th 2008 at 4:25 pm EDT

many hospitals must agree to take all ER cases in order to be approved for additions like new PICU's, ICU's or CCU's. People now have no choice but to go to the ER if they have no health care. So, doctors are seeing acute illnesses like ear infetions and flu's because it is the only way some can be treated. You pay as you go to see doctor in his office. Some cannot afford it. So many have no preventive care, and it costs us more to see them in the ER..but these people have no choice. I wish we had single pay...but that's dreaming.

Re: because

By Donna Jul 4th 2008 at 4:31 pm EDT

Hospitals have to take patients if receiving federal money.

Triage

By Donna Jul 4th 2008 at 4:29 pm EDT

The people sitting there for long periods of time are usually not there for life threatening situations. Those people would do better in an Urgent Care Facility (need more of them).

People are told to go to the ER because physicians want to cover their @ss. Also, goes to the nurse's inability to correctly assess the situation.

Some just aren't educated enough to know the warning signs of life threatening situations and communicate well with doctors and nurses.

I can help you with this one.

By AnneK Jul 4th 2008 at 4:32 pm EDT

When I was divorced and trying to finish my college degree with two kids, we had no healthcare. We had no family Dr, because there was no Dr in town who would add my children to his client list on a cash payment basis. No insurance? No family doc. When my kids needed antibiotic prescriptions for ear infections or strep throat or any other run of the mill illness, the only place to take them was to the ER. And what would otherwise have been a $50 bill became a $300 bill. There were a couple of times when, because I had no insurance, ER staff refused to see my children. I had to raise hell and risk getting arrested to get a Dr to see Emily when she had a 105* fever with Strep throat.

Re: I can help you with this one.

By Donna Jul 4th 2008 at 4:39 pm EDT

This needs to be fixed. Thank God your children had a mother who cared.