Are You "Emergency Room Happy"?

[luvsJack]

While it's true there are people like Acklander who can't get insurance, and people like MomRN who can't (temporarily, ideally) afford insurance - in MANY more cases, people just choose to not get insurance and instead use the ER as their 'regular' doctor.

IMHO, there are many more that simply cannot afford it than are just "choosing" not to have it. Something just aren't that great of a "choice". But, regardless, I don't think that we can tell who is uninsurable, who cannot afford it and who is making a choice simply by a statement that they do not have insurance or by looking at the person in the ER. Which is why I stand by my statement that we should reserve judgment until we have walked in their shoes.

 

[lillygator]

While it's true there are people like Acklander who can't get insurance, and people like MomRN who can't (temporarily, ideally) afford insurance - in MANY more cases, people just choose to not get insurance and instead use the ER as their 'regular' doctor.

I agree...

 

[tammymacb]

Just sent you a PM--but wanted to post her as well that I do apologize for my own snappy attitude yesterday. It wasn't fair of me to do that.

Thanks for being a trooper in the ER.

No worries!

Apology accepted but not necessary. I admit, I was a tad on the "over it" side yesterday. It was my first day off after working 48+ hours in the four days before. So, not exactly in the best of moods...

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Mine wasn't a wisdom tooth but it was truly the only time in my life that I completely understood how someone could OD on pain meds. You just want the pain gone and you can NOT think clearly (at least I couldn't it was just all consuming pain). I actually took one of DH's pain killers he had from when he had his tooth removed. He happened to still have them (it was only Tylenol with Codiene -- so I knew it would be OK but I was desperate) but waiting for that to kick in I would have probably taken anything on top of it get the pain to stop it was excruitating. Even unmedicated labor wasn't as painful as that was. Mine was a cracked tooth that I had when pregnant but figured they couldn't do anything due to the pregnancy. It was about 2 months after the baby was born when the pain hit. If we didn't happen to have the pain killers at home, I'm pretty sure we would have ended up in ER because it was that bad of pain.

Oh boy was i miserable. Until you have unbearable tooth pain, it sounds like no big deal. Just see the dentist on Monday. Well, first of all, a dentist will not touch you until you have been on a course of antibiotics, which can take about 2-3 days to kick in (and you really do feel a LOT better when they do)
The pain really was unbearable. I could feel myself starting to go faint from the pain. I was seeing spots and everything. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.
I greatly admire ER docs and nurses...they deal with anything and everything and have to make quick decisions. That being said, the normal person (without a cold or a drug habit) doesn't have the medical expertise to know when it is safe to go to the ER or let it wait until they can see a dr. I know you guys see all kinds of crazy stuff, but some of your patients honestly end up with pain or symptoms and feel like going to the ER is the safest and quickest way to seek medical attention. I think a lot of people would rather wait it out, but aren't sure and err on the side of caution. But thank you to all the docs and nurses who care for us.

 

[C.Ann]

Absolutely not.. My current health insurance doesn't cover Urgent Care Centers though - only the ER or my PCP - so I suppose if I broke my leg, I wouldn't have a choice.. (Stupid move on the part of the health insurance company as far as I'm concerned..)

I believe ER's are for emergencies - life or death situations - or a very serious problem that could result in the need for emergency surgery..

The last time I was in an ER was 2 or 3 years ago - with a partial blockage in my intestines.. Doctor advised I go to the ER because of concerns that I might need immediate surgery or some other type of intervention..

Other than that, the last time I was in the ER was about 16 years ago - and I was admitted with a severe case of diverticulitis - spent 5 days in the hospital..

The ER is about the last place in the world I want to be - other than my grave..

 

[mlynn]

I hate to go to the ER.But there isn't anywhere else to go.No urgent care in this area.

I had to take my husband to teh Er the Friday before Thanksgiving. He got 37 stiches.Cut is leg with a chainsaw.(thankfully only skin was cut nothing else.) Well the lady in the bed next to us was there for a yeast infection in her belly button.(sorry that is a waste of ER personal time)

 

[autumnpalm]

I've been to the ER quite a few times. I have a heart condition that flared up a lot in my childhood that was responsible for a few of those visits and the other three times were injuries- 2 broken bones and a deep wound requiring stitches.

In my city (and I live in a big one) clinics will not even look at broken bones, they get sent straight to the ER. Because our healthcare is "free" I do think a lot of people take advantage of the ER but I would rather people go when they perhaps don't need it desperately than to stay home when they do.

I won't go to the ER unless it's something I can't take care of myself or wait out until a doctor's appointment. Usually a typical wait here is around 6-7 hours and I wouldn't sit through that if I didn't think it was necessary!

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

i have an uncle who is CONSTANTLY in the ER, but he's a bit of a hypocondriac....he thinks he's dying all the time.


i've only been to the ER when i was having heart palpatations/chest pain. altho that was a waste because i was there for 2 hours(and i was the ONLY person in the ER at the time, and all of the nurses were at the nurses station watching tv, i could see them from where i was lying on the bed) before they even got an X-ray.

unfortunatly we don't have many clinics around tho. we have one that's about a 20 minute drive, but we have two hospitals within a 10 minute drive of where we live.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I had to take my husband to teh Er the Friday before Thanksgiving. He got 37 stiches.Cut is leg with a chainsaw.(thankfully only skin was cut nothing else.) Well the lady in the bed next to us was there for a yeast infection in her belly button.(sorry that is a waste of ER personal time)

I would have responded sooner, but I was too stunned to move. Call me stupid, but wouldn't saline and a clean cloth, followed by a five freaking dollar tube of over-the-counter antibiotic, have made more sense?

No, I don't have my medical degree; my brother offered to make me one but so far - nothin' But I do have common sense.

 

[aprilgail2]

In my city (and I live in a big one) clinics will not even look at broken bones, they get sent straight to the ER. Because our healthcare is "free" I do think a lot of people take advantage of the ER but I would rather people go when they perhaps don't need it desperately than to stay home when they do.

I won't go to the ER unless it's something I can't take care of myself or wait out until a doctor's appointment. Usually a typical wait here is around 6-7 hours and I wouldn't sit through that if I didn't think it was necessary!

7 hours wait in the emergancy room!!!?!?! Wow--I have never had to wait more than an hour for the adult side of the emergancy room all the times I had to take my mom and 20 minutes tops for the pediatric side if a wait at all!!

 

[Acklander]

7 hours wait in the emergancy room!!!?!?! Wow--I have never had to wait more than an hour for the adult side of the emergancy room all the times I had to take my mom and 20 minutes tops for the pediatric side if a wait at all!!

Wow!!! only an hour wait in ER???? Is that the normal wait time? Where do you live? Once DH had to wait 9 hours to get stitches and a shot after a bad dog bite. I think the quickest I got in was about 2 hours with a kidney stone, but that was a fairly quiet day.

 

[mariolatry]

I've been to emergency rooms in Chicago (a few times), Denver (once), and here in Massachusetts (many times), all Level I trauma centers, and never had to wait more than 60-90 minutes, even when my issue were less than critical

Were you in a county hospital?

 

[DizBelle]

I would have responded sooner, but I was too stunned to move. Call me stupid, but wouldn't saline and a clean cloth, followed by a five freaking dollar tube of over-the-counter antibiotic, have made more sense?

No, I don't have my medical degree; my brother offered to make me one but so far - nothin' But I do have common sense.

Saline and OTC topical antibiotic for a leg cut with a chain saw?!?!?

 

[wvjules]

Saline and OTC antibiotic for a leg cut with a chain saw?!?!?

I think she meant for the yeast infected belly button.

 

[DizBelle]

I think she meant for the yeast infected belly button.

Even then, wouldn't a yeast infection need an anti-fungal rather than anitbiotic? This is the kind of thing we need medical advice for - sometimes you don't know what the appropriate treatment is. Although, I don't think it was worthy of an emergency room visit unless the yeast was taking over her whole body.

 

[tinkerbell198530]

Absolutely not.. My current health insurance doesn't cover Urgent Care Centers though - only the ER or my PCP - so I suppose if I broke my leg, I wouldn't have a choice.. (Stupid move on the part of the health insurance company as far as I'm concerned..)

I believe ER's are for emergencies - life or death situations - or a very serious problem that could result in the need for emergency surgery..

The last time I was in an ER was 2 or 3 years ago - with a partial blockage in my intestines.. Doctor advised I go to the ER because of concerns that I might need immediate surgery or some other type of intervention..

Other than that, the last time I was in the ER was about 16 years ago - and I was admitted with a severe case of diverticulitis - spent 5 days in the hospital..

The ER is about the last place in the world I want to be - other than my grave..

I have that same problem with my inserance and you would think it would be the other way around

I was just at the ER last week just becuse I needed tynanal 3 sry for the spelling

 

[momof5boys]

Sitting here laughing and shaking my head at all these replies, when I should really go to sleep so I can work my 12 hour shift in the ER tonight! I work at a community hospital(door to doc, average wait time 20mins, that's what the billboard says anyway! But now that everyone has seen it, our wait time is longer! ) Yeah we see alot of abuse at our place, definately have our frequent flyers, can name them just based on the report the ambulances give us! Have raised several people from birth and are now raising their children and grandchildren(they start young around here!) It never fails though, every night I get someone that REALLY needs to be there and they are second guessing themselves as to if they should have come or waited until their doc was open the next day! Meanwhile the hang nail next door is annoyed they have been waiting for 5 mins and no one gave them narcotics yet! They best is when the doctors confront the drug seekers. We have all visits scanned into the computer, they will list all the visits, and what narcs they got, the patients act like they have not been there that often, and boy do they get mad! Once a lady swore it wasn't her and someone else was using her ID, you should have seen the look on her face when we called the police to make a report that someone was obtaining narcotics using her information! Seemed like the police knew her too! Well I wonder what tonight will bring! One thing's for sure, it is never boring!

 

[locolala]

I'm amazed at some of the wait times too.. the last time I was in the ER I was in and out, including picking up meds from the pharmacy upstairs in less than 2 hours. That was for bronchitis so bad I was coughing up blood. In general, at the Naval Hospital you're back in a bed within half an hour, faster if you're really sick.

 

[Acklander]

I've been to emergency rooms in Chicago (a few times), Denver (once), and here in Massachusetts (many times), all Level I trauma centers, and never had to wait more than 60-90 minutes, even when my issue were less than critical

Were you in a county hospital?

No, but I've always lived in a high tourist area. So maybe long waits are on account that there are many people in the area who don't have their regular doctor???

 

[kamik86]

Around here you have to go to the emergency room for anything that you can't wait until your Doctors office is open. There are no urgent care centers. The entire county only has two hospitals. If you have a premie baby, or get in a bad car accident, or are really sick with something slightly unusual you will be sent to a hospital over two hours away.... and you should be glad for that since both the hospitals nearby really aren't very good at anything beyond stitches, setting broken bones, and delivering babies from healthy uncomplicated pregnancies. So if you had stayed they probably would have missed something or not had the equipment to run that test that you needed etc.

My husband has been in the ER twice this year kept having really bad side pains that we thought might be appendicitis. Of course it always seemed to get really bad on Saturday night when there was no way to see anyone until Monday without going to the emergency room.

Also from my husbands crappy job I know another reason so many go to the ER for nothing is that you need a Drs. note to be out if you have been out what they think is "too much" lately. My husband had a bad run of sicknesses last year so when this stuff hit in January after 2 or 3 missed days they told him he would be fired if he missed again without a note, and even with a note got a lecture each time. Now if you live somewhere with no clinics and it is Saturday afternoon and you start feeling like **** to the point that you can barely stand, can't keep dehydrated etc but you know its just the bug that they told you about at the ER last time what do you do? Your choices are to the go work or the ER.