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I've always been told ER is for _emergencies_, I'd never go there for a 2nd degree burn or a small cut. Emergencies as in "if I don't go there _now_ I might su

I've always been told ER is for _emergencies_, I'd never go there for a 2nd degree burn or a small cut. Emergencies as in "if I don't go there _now_ I might suffer _grave_ long term consequences" not as in "ouchie it'll be painful until I get it looked at tomorrow"

giraffe_lady 4y ago
The thing is the doctor you would get to look at it tomorrow can simply decline to, the ER can't.
- lm28469 4y ago
  Exactly, and that's why when you go there you have to wait 8 hours because you have 38 non emergency scenarios before it's your turn.
  - brewdad 4y ago
    ERs do triage on incoming patients. If you arrive with non-life threatening issues, you will be pushed to the back of the line repeatedly. Occasionally, a patient or intake nurse will misjudge the problem and the patient dies in the waiting room. Greatest health care system in the world.
    - ejb999 4y ago
      which health care system magically triages patients correctly 100% of the time and never makes mistakes?
denimnerd42 4y ago
Well we're not only talking about adults but also talking about children here. At 9pm you get a small AND deep cut requiring stitches. It won't stop bleeding if you take pressure off. what do you do? At 9pm your family member accidentally drops a kettle of of hot but not life threatening water on your child and they get a large blister on their chest, what do you do? These are probably not serious situations but the pediatrician will tell you to go to the ER even if you wait till the next morning.
- Rebelgecko 4y ago
  Why not an urgent care?
  - denimnerd42 4y ago
    Fine in theory, but the experiences I've had leave something to be desired. Ideally, I want to see doctors I have relationships with, aka my PCP, to facilitate and advise. But they are not interested in that.
    - brewdad 4y ago
      Yes. The past three times I've gone to Urgent Care I have been punted to the ER for no good reason twice and received an incorrect diagnosis complete with a prescription that did nothing to alieviate my symptoms. If you get sick/injured in my area between 4pm Friday and 9am Monday...good luck.
      - ejb999 4y ago
        That has been my experience as well - best advice, don't get really sick or really hurt outside of regular business hours. Broke my foot a few months back and called all the urgent care outfits in my area for an appt - none of them were seeing patients due to lack of staffing. Waited a few days to be seen at an ortho office once I had a referral from my primary care physician in place.
  - treis 4y ago
    Urgent Care has an annoying habit of charging a bunch of money to punt to the ER for liability reasons. Stitches and X-rays to see if you broke a bone are about the only thing they're good for.
- dsfyu404ed 4y ago
  Pretty much anything up to and including a non-life threatening bullet wound can be solved with readily available drugs, a good back country/extreme sports first aid kit and the internet. Expensive machines and complex diagnostics are really the only big things an ER can do that you can't.
anigbrowl 4y ago
Except if you try to get medical treatment for a minor injury the response is often 'no go to the ER' because people want to avoid liability.
- mindslight 4y ago
  I mean if you simply call up a doctor's office to check on an appointment, one of the prerecorded announcements they waste your time with is generally a suggestion to call 911 or go to the ER. The entire medical system is "not my job" turtles all the way down.
dividefuel 4y ago
I agree that the ER should just be for emergencies. The problem is that there isn't anywhere else where you can get same-day care for many types of needs. My spouse has some minor heart issues. She wasn't feeling well one day and went to urgent care, but urgent care didn't have the equipment to assess her and rule out any major concerns. Urgent care suggested seeing a cardiologist, but they also said she should go to the ER. Of course seeing a cardiologist on the same day, or even within a week, is virtually impossible. After talking about it, we decided to go to the ER because of the literal life-threatening consequences of ignoring a potentially big issue. We go to the ER, and she waits for hours for them to run some basic tests. The tests come back negative, and the ER medical staff treated her like she shouldn't be in the ER. And they aren't wrong... but what's the alternative? When there's a 90% chance you're OK, but a 10% chance of a serious issue, and you have nowhere else to go to rule it out? Urgent care tells you to go to the ER, but you can't weigh how much that's them covering their own liability VS genuine medical advice. Then you go to the ER and they wonder why you're at the ER.
- floxy 4y ago
  >but urgent care didn't have the equipment to assess her and rule out any major concerns. Just curious what kind of equipment the Urgent Care didn't have (if you know). I went to the doctor last year, mentioned that I thought some heart palpitations. The doctor said, we'll lets do an EKG. I was thinking this would be something I schedule for later, but to my surprise, the nurse rolls in a machine, and the hooked me up to some electrodes and the whole thing was done in like 5 minutes.
- frumper 4y ago
  They are wrong to treat her like that. If she stayed after the test results then sure, but until those tests are done they don't know any more than your wife does.

giraffe_lady 4y ago

The thing is the doctor you would get to look at it tomorrow can simply decline to, the ER can't.

lm28469 4y ago
Exactly, and that's why when you go there you have to wait 8 hours because you have 38 non emergency scenarios before it's your turn.
- brewdad 4y ago
  ERs do triage on incoming patients. If you arrive with non-life threatening issues, you will be pushed to the back of the line repeatedly. Occasionally, a patient or intake nurse will misjudge the problem and the patient dies in the waiting room. Greatest health care system in the world.
  - ejb999 4y ago
    which health care system magically triages patients correctly 100% of the time and never makes mistakes?

denimnerd42 4y ago

Well we're not only talking about adults but also talking about children here. At 9pm you get a small AND deep cut requiring stitches. It won't stop bleeding if you take pressure off. what do you do? At 9pm your family member accidentally drops a kettle of of hot but not life threatening water on your child and they get a large blister on their chest, what do you do? These are probably not serious situations but the pediatrician will tell you to go to the ER even if you wait till the next morning.

Rebelgecko 4y ago
Why not an urgent care?
- denimnerd42 4y ago
  Fine in theory, but the experiences I've had leave something to be desired. Ideally, I want to see doctors I have relationships with, aka my PCP, to facilitate and advise. But they are not interested in that.
  - brewdad 4y ago
    Yes. The past three times I've gone to Urgent Care I have been punted to the ER for no good reason twice and received an incorrect diagnosis complete with a prescription that did nothing to alieviate my symptoms. If you get sick/injured in my area between 4pm Friday and 9am Monday...good luck.
    - ejb999 4y ago
      That has been my experience as well - best advice, don't get really sick or really hurt outside of regular business hours. Broke my foot a few months back and called all the urgent care outfits in my area for an appt - none of them were seeing patients due to lack of staffing. Waited a few days to be seen at an ortho office once I had a referral from my primary care physician in place.
- treis 4y ago
  Urgent Care has an annoying habit of charging a bunch of money to punt to the ER for liability reasons. Stitches and X-rays to see if you broke a bone are about the only thing they're good for.
dsfyu404ed 4y ago
Pretty much anything up to and including a non-life threatening bullet wound can be solved with readily available drugs, a good back country/extreme sports first aid kit and the internet. Expensive machines and complex diagnostics are really the only big things an ER can do that you can't.

anigbrowl 4y ago

Except if you try to get medical treatment for a minor injury the response is often 'no go to the ER' because people want to avoid liability.

mindslight 4y ago
I mean if you simply call up a doctor's office to check on an appointment, one of the prerecorded announcements they waste your time with is generally a suggestion to call 911 or go to the ER. The entire medical system is "not my job" turtles all the way down.

dividefuel 4y ago

I agree that the ER should just be for emergencies. The problem is that there isn't anywhere else where you can get same-day care for many types of needs. My spouse has some minor heart issues. She wasn't feeling well one day and went to urgent care, but urgent care didn't have the equipment to assess her and rule out any major concerns. Urgent care suggested seeing a cardiologist, but they also said she should go to the ER. Of course seeing a cardiologist on the same day, or even within a week, is virtually impossible. After talking about it, we decided to go to the ER because of the literal life-threatening consequences of ignoring a potentially big issue. We go to the ER, and she waits for hours for them to run some basic tests. The tests come back negative, and the ER medical staff treated her like she shouldn't be in the ER. And they aren't wrong... but what's the alternative? When there's a 90% chance you're OK, but a 10% chance of a serious issue, and you have nowhere else to go to rule it out? Urgent care tells you to go to the ER, but you can't weigh how much that's them covering their own liability VS genuine medical advice. Then you go to the ER and they wonder why you're at the ER.

floxy 4y ago
>but urgent care didn't have the equipment to assess her and rule out any major concerns. Just curious what kind of equipment the Urgent Care didn't have (if you know). I went to the doctor last year, mentioned that I thought some heart palpitations. The doctor said, we'll lets do an EKG. I was thinking this would be something I schedule for later, but to my surprise, the nurse rolls in a machine, and the hooked me up to some electrodes and the whole thing was done in like 5 minutes.
frumper 4y ago
They are wrong to treat her like that. If she stayed after the test results then sure, but until those tests are done they don't know any more than your wife does.