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> I’ve heard that ER doctors have been experiencing this in recent years–not quite with automation so much as just offloading, as less serious cases are picked
by davemp 3y ago
> I’ve heard that ER doctors have been experiencing this in recent years–not quite with automation so much as just offloading, as less serious cases are picked up by nurse practitioners/urgent care centers, staffing has been adjusted and the actual physicians wind up with a steady stream of stressful high-acuity cases back to back to back.
Yet at the same time, ERs (near me at least) are still inundated with so many patients that average wait times are 4-5hrs.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- tharkun__ 3y agoMaybe you are in an oasis of reason where this doesn't happen. But most ERs I have heard of that are overcrowded is because people go to the emergency room when there is no actual emergency.
- phatskat 3y agoI’m sure there’s a number of reasons for this - after about 5 PM, your options are typically the ER or an urgent care. UC’s usually require payment up front, and for people who either don’t have insurance or who have high deductibles, the cost of care at a hospital (which is way more but can be put off) vs the up front cost of urgent care probably pushes people towards ERs. There’s likely other factors - lack of medical education/first aid, consulting Dr Google and then having anxiety that maybe that slight pain is something horrible, etc. A public health system could alleviate this stress, if done well. Clinics that are open later than “business hours”, readily accessible telehealth providers, and better public health education could all come about from a public system. Privatized, all of these can only exist with a profit motive, and the insurance and health system are costly.