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Just another report highlighting the need for change to our current healthcare system. Although anecdotal, multiple family members who are health care provider

Just another report highlighting the need for change to our current healthcare system. Although anecdotal, multiple family members who are health care providers in the ER (Nurse, PA, Doctor) it's more often than not far from an emergency ailment. This creates a scary supply and demand scenario.

deleted 9y ago
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angmarsbane 9y ago
I think one benefit of the emergency room is that you know it'll be open. Doctor offices follow normal working hours. Every time I've ended up in an emergency room its for something that happened in abnormal hours.
- nradov 9y ago
  The usual solution is urgent care clinics with extended hours, although in some areas they aren't open 24 hours. Symptoms always seem to get worse at 3 AM.
  - ribosometronome 9y ago
    Some? I'd guess that in most areas, they aren't open 24 hours. As far as I know, SF (for example) doesn't have any urgent care centers that are open overnight.
- irrational 9y ago
  Same here. Our local urgent care places aren't open very late, so every time we've gone to the emergency room is because it's the only medical establishment open.
gricardo99 9y ago
Yup. The system is pretty messed-up and from my view (as a user), it drives people towards ERs as there are few other options. Some examples: 1 - Any time a condition/illness causes bad nausea/vomiting, the urgent care will send you to an ER to get IV meds and fluids, which they can't do. You probably don't need a full ER, but that's the only place to go. This must be fairly common during flu season, and a huge waste of resources. A startup idea could be an Uber for off-hour home visits. If all you need is IV fluids, check some vitals, keep you comfortable to ride-out a nasty virus, surely it's in everyone's interest to have a quick visit by a nurse/PA, possibly MD. 2 - Pain management. If you have a relatively new illness or injury that requires stronger medications to manage the pain, you have no choice but to go to an ER, or perhaps be admitted to a hospital (which is even more expensive). I can't say if over a longer period of time, for a chronic case, there are better options that eventually get worked out. But 2 months into such an issue with a family member, and going to the ER was frustratingly the only option. 3 - Chest pain. Yes, it could be a heart attack, so maybe an ER is the best place to go. You will get triage pretty quickly with an EKG, and some basic vitals, but you're still stuck there for hours if it's a false alarm (I'm guessing quite often). There's got to be a better way.
- halfteatree 9y ago
  3 has been an issue for me recently. I was referred to ER for some chest discomfort, which, unfortunately, the school clinic I was studying at cannot do the blood tests to see if it's a blood clot. I was given scary words like "you could die from this if untreated". For that reason, I visited ER twice that week, and was diagnosed with some mild stomach issue and stress. Every single test they ran gave negative result. It's a huge waste of time for me, and I feel very guilty for wasting ER resources (especially as an immigrant). There has got to be a better way. Edit: I was very lucky to be covered under school-mandated health insurance, and I don't think you could live comfortably in the U.S. without having one.
- jogjayr 9y ago
  For #3 they treat even the remote possibility of heart trouble very seriously. I went into the ER with a broken wrist and they hooked me up to an EKG first, before even examining the wrist. Later they told me it was because of my elevated heart rate and blood pressure, and because I was sweating profusely. At that point I had already told them I got the injury playing soccer, it was summer and hot outside.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

angmarsbane 9y ago

I think one benefit of the emergency room is that you know it'll be open. Doctor offices follow normal working hours. Every time I've ended up in an emergency room its for something that happened in abnormal hours.

nradov 9y ago
The usual solution is urgent care clinics with extended hours, although in some areas they aren't open 24 hours. Symptoms always seem to get worse at 3 AM.
- ribosometronome 9y ago
  Some? I'd guess that in most areas, they aren't open 24 hours. As far as I know, SF (for example) doesn't have any urgent care centers that are open overnight.
irrational 9y ago
Same here. Our local urgent care places aren't open very late, so every time we've gone to the emergency room is because it's the only medical establishment open.

gricardo99 9y ago

Yup. The system is pretty messed-up and from my view (as a user), it drives people towards ERs as there are few other options. Some examples: 1 - Any time a condition/illness causes bad nausea/vomiting, the urgent care will send you to an ER to get IV meds and fluids, which they can't do. You probably don't need a full ER, but that's the only place to go. This must be fairly common during flu season, and a huge waste of resources. A startup idea could be an Uber for off-hour home visits. If all you need is IV fluids, check some vitals, keep you comfortable to ride-out a nasty virus, surely it's in everyone's interest to have a quick visit by a nurse/PA, possibly MD. 2 - Pain management. If you have a relatively new illness or injury that requires stronger medications to manage the pain, you have no choice but to go to an ER, or perhaps be admitted to a hospital (which is even more expensive). I can't say if over a longer period of time, for a chronic case, there are better options that eventually get worked out. But 2 months into such an issue with a family member, and going to the ER was frustratingly the only option. 3 - Chest pain. Yes, it could be a heart attack, so maybe an ER is the best place to go. You will get triage pretty quickly with an EKG, and some basic vitals, but you're still stuck there for hours if it's a false alarm (I'm guessing quite often). There's got to be a better way.

halfteatree 9y ago
3 has been an issue for me recently. I was referred to ER for some chest discomfort, which, unfortunately, the school clinic I was studying at cannot do the blood tests to see if it's a blood clot. I was given scary words like "you could die from this if untreated". For that reason, I visited ER twice that week, and was diagnosed with some mild stomach issue and stress. Every single test they ran gave negative result. It's a huge waste of time for me, and I feel very guilty for wasting ER resources (especially as an immigrant). There has got to be a better way. Edit: I was very lucky to be covered under school-mandated health insurance, and I don't think you could live comfortably in the U.S. without having one.
jogjayr 9y ago
For #3 they treat even the remote possibility of heart trouble very seriously. I went into the ER with a broken wrist and they hooked me up to an EKG first, before even examining the wrist. Later they told me it was because of my elevated heart rate and blood pressure, and because I was sweating profusely. At that point I had already told them I got the injury playing soccer, it was summer and hot outside.