3 ms·

The problem is that you show up with minimal symptoms like someone who has a cold, to an ER where people have serious wounds and problems. You get triaged and e

The problem is that you show up with minimal symptoms like someone who has a cold, to an ER where people have serious wounds and problems. You get triaged and end up sitting in the waiting room for hours, infecting potentially tens of other people, who may have weakened immune systems, etc. and it goes on to spread around the hospital. What can the hospital even do to help you with this?

gvjddbnvdrbv 7y ago
If you have travelled to the affected areas and have respiratory symptoms you DON'T just go to hospital. You call ahead and then do what you are told.
- newnewpdro 7y ago
  Only if you have the sense to do that. Have you met many Americans? I don't know why, but the ER has become the default destination for anything medical for many. There's no need to call ahead, they're open 24hrs! sigh
  - serf 7y ago
    >Only if you have the sense to do that. Have you met many Americans? I don't know why this kind of 'American stereotyping' is okay. That aside, myself and my family ('Americans' in 'America') have physicians that we call when we have issues. That physician is generally the one to tell us what to do. Our situation isn't abnormal or unusual, either.
    - DataWorker 7y ago
      Do you have hmo coverage? I think what you describe is increasingly anachronistic and may vanish completely in coming years, for a majority of Americans at least, depending on certain political outcomes.
    - gvjddbnvdrbv 7y ago
      What do you do if you get sick on Christmas day? Everywhere I've lived the family doctor should be first contact but everyone seems to get sick at 5:30pm on Friday...
    - newnewpdro 7y ago
      It's backed up by the statistics, and if you go do some searches for "emergency room unnecesary" and the like, you'll find plenty of articles on the subject. Number of visits: 145.6 million Number of injury-related visits: 42.2 million Number of visits per 100 persons: 45.8 Number of emergency department visits resulting in hospital admission: 12.6 million Number of emergency department visits resulting in admission to critical care unit: 2.2 million [0] "71% of ED Visits Unnecessary, Avoidable" [1] If you're not familiar with Americans going to ERs "just to be safe" for the most frivolous reasons, because their insurance will pay for it, we're not living in the same country. With that sort of attitude being prevalent, it's easy to see how someone would go directly to the ER and spread something like this without giving it any thought. [0] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/emergency-department.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/emergency-department.htm [1] https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/patient-flow/study-71-of-ed-visits-unnecessary-avoidable.html https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/patient-flow/study-71-...
  - Fomite 7y ago
    The major driver of overuse of the ER is EMTALA, which means you're going to be treated without regard for your ability to pay in an ER. There's blame for that, but for many people with non-critical conditions in the ER, it's a rational choice.
culturestate 7y ago
The danger of intrahospital transmission was one of the WHO's key takeaways[1] from the SARS outbreak. Mitigation seems to depend on three pillars: 1. Identify infections quickly and isolate those patients as soon as possible 2. Aggressively trace and monitor anyone in contact with those patients, including hospital staff 3. Set a very low threshold for quarantine of any person suspected of infection Thankfully the various governments involved seem to have already started running this playbook. There's also a fairly loud public education campaign[2] underway to make sure people know what to do (call the doctor, tell them what's happening, and follow their instructions) if they show symptoms. Note: I'm not a doctor or epidemiologist, but I split my time between Hong Kong and Singapore so I've followed this situation relatively closely. 1. https://www.who.int/csr/sars/conference/june_2003/materials/presentations/en/sarssingapore170603.pdf https://www.who.int/csr/sars/conference/june_2003/materials/... 2. https://www.moh.gov.sg/2019-ncov-wuhan https://www.moh.gov.sg/2019-ncov-wuhan
Fomite 7y ago
Triage should include a travel history. Additionally, especially during flu season, if you're presenting "like someone who has a cold" you should be wearing a mark. In terms of what a hospital can do - if you get severe viral pneumonia, intensive care and supportive therapy is about all that can be done.

gvjddbnvdrbv 7y ago

If you have travelled to the affected areas and have respiratory symptoms you DON'T just go to hospital. You call ahead and then do what you are told.

newnewpdro 7y ago
Only if you have the sense to do that. Have you met many Americans? I don't know why, but the ER has become the default destination for anything medical for many. There's no need to call ahead, they're open 24hrs! sigh
- serf 7y ago
  >Only if you have the sense to do that. Have you met many Americans? I don't know why this kind of 'American stereotyping' is okay. That aside, myself and my family ('Americans' in 'America') have physicians that we call when we have issues. That physician is generally the one to tell us what to do. Our situation isn't abnormal or unusual, either.
  - DataWorker 7y ago
    Do you have hmo coverage? I think what you describe is increasingly anachronistic and may vanish completely in coming years, for a majority of Americans at least, depending on certain political outcomes.
  - gvjddbnvdrbv 7y ago
    What do you do if you get sick on Christmas day? Everywhere I've lived the family doctor should be first contact but everyone seems to get sick at 5:30pm on Friday...
  - newnewpdro 7y ago
    It's backed up by the statistics, and if you go do some searches for "emergency room unnecesary" and the like, you'll find plenty of articles on the subject. Number of visits: 145.6 million Number of injury-related visits: 42.2 million Number of visits per 100 persons: 45.8 Number of emergency department visits resulting in hospital admission: 12.6 million Number of emergency department visits resulting in admission to critical care unit: 2.2 million [0] "71% of ED Visits Unnecessary, Avoidable" [1] If you're not familiar with Americans going to ERs "just to be safe" for the most frivolous reasons, because their insurance will pay for it, we're not living in the same country. With that sort of attitude being prevalent, it's easy to see how someone would go directly to the ER and spread something like this without giving it any thought. [0] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/emergency-department.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/emergency-department.htm [1] https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/patient-flow/study-71-of-ed-visits-unnecessary-avoidable.html https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/patient-flow/study-71-...
- Fomite 7y ago
  The major driver of overuse of the ER is EMTALA, which means you're going to be treated without regard for your ability to pay in an ER. There's blame for that, but for many people with non-critical conditions in the ER, it's a rational choice.

culturestate 7y ago

The danger of intrahospital transmission was one of the WHO's key takeaways[1] from the SARS outbreak. Mitigation seems to depend on three pillars: 1. Identify infections quickly and isolate those patients as soon as possible 2. Aggressively trace and monitor anyone in contact with those patients, including hospital staff 3. Set a very low threshold for quarantine of any person suspected of infection Thankfully the various governments involved seem to have already started running this playbook. There's also a fairly loud public education campaign[2] underway to make sure people know what to do (call the doctor, tell them what's happening, and follow their instructions) if they show symptoms. Note: I'm not a doctor or epidemiologist, but I split my time between Hong Kong and Singapore so I've followed this situation relatively closely. 1. https://www.who.int/csr/sars/conference/june_2003/materials/presentations/en/sarssingapore170603.pdf https://www.who.int/csr/sars/conference/june_2003/materials/... 2. https://www.moh.gov.sg/2019-ncov-wuhan https://www.moh.gov.sg/2019-ncov-wuhan

Fomite 7y ago

Triage should include a travel history. Additionally, especially during flu season, if you're presenting "like someone who has a cold" you should be wearing a mark. In terms of what a hospital can do - if you get severe viral pneumonia, intensive care and supportive therapy is about all that can be done.