4 ms·

Most people go to the ER for non-emergencies. The good news: if they have you sitting around for hours then it means it was not an emergency and you (probably)

Most people go to the ER for non-emergencies. The good news: if they have you sitting around for hours then it means it was not an emergency and you (probably) won't die. Be worried if you check in and they hurriedly shuttle you into an exam room. That means they think you have an actual immediate life threatening emergency.

_heimdall 3y ago
Alternative translation, if they don't hurry shuttle you in you probably don't need to be in the ER.
- RoyalHenOil 3y ago
  Unfortunately, at least in some regions, there is no other place to receive urgent (but non-emergency) care. Waiting a week or more for a doctor's appointment isn't going to cut it if you've broken your arm or if you've been bitten by a possibly rabid animal, and so you're stuck waiting all day or all night in the ER. It was a revelation to me when I moved from the US to Australia. Not only do I not have to pay for insurance, but it's so much easier to receive non-emergency urgent care as well. I can typically book a doctor's appointment for the next day (there are no insurance networks to worry about, so I have my pick of doctors), or if I need care sooner than that, my local ER usually has a wait time of under 30 minutes even for super minor treatment, like removing a sliver of glass from my foot (the high availability of doctors means the local is pretty quiet).
  - jonhpipoca 3y ago
    You're seeing public GPs or what kind of doctor? In Melbourne, public bulk billed GPs are hard to book for the same day, the best ones are regularly 1 week away. Private specialties (Endocrinologist, Psychiatrist) are months away. What you're doing that I'm doing wrong?
bradley13 3y ago
There are also the intermediate cases. I had a blood clot in the leg. Not immediately life threatening, but certainly so over a couple of days. I waited something around 1-2 hours, which was not fun, but completely understandable.

_heimdall 3y ago

Alternative translation, if they don't hurry shuttle you in you probably don't need to be in the ER.

RoyalHenOil 3y ago
Unfortunately, at least in some regions, there is no other place to receive urgent (but non-emergency) care. Waiting a week or more for a doctor's appointment isn't going to cut it if you've broken your arm or if you've been bitten by a possibly rabid animal, and so you're stuck waiting all day or all night in the ER. It was a revelation to me when I moved from the US to Australia. Not only do I not have to pay for insurance, but it's so much easier to receive non-emergency urgent care as well. I can typically book a doctor's appointment for the next day (there are no insurance networks to worry about, so I have my pick of doctors), or if I need care sooner than that, my local ER usually has a wait time of under 30 minutes even for super minor treatment, like removing a sliver of glass from my foot (the high availability of doctors means the local is pretty quiet).
- jonhpipoca 3y ago
  You're seeing public GPs or what kind of doctor? In Melbourne, public bulk billed GPs are hard to book for the same day, the best ones are regularly 1 week away. Private specialties (Endocrinologist, Psychiatrist) are months away. What you're doing that I'm doing wrong?

bradley13 3y ago

There are also the intermediate cases. I had a blood clot in the leg. Not immediately life threatening, but certainly so over a couple of days. I waited something around 1-2 hours, which was not fun, but completely understandable.