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> Emergency room visits for gambling disorders Are Canadian ERs different than ERs in the U.S.? Why would one go to an emergency room, seek emergency treatment

> Emergency room visits for gambling disorders Are Canadian ERs different than ERs in the U.S.? Why would one go to an emergency room, seek emergency treatment, for a gambling disorder?

john_strinlai 16d ago
is the sense that it wont immediately bankrupt you, yes, they are different. but my skimming of the study itself is that something else occurs (mental episode of some sort, such as anxiety attacks or suicide attempts, etc.) and gambling is noted as a primary or contributing factor in the billing code. it does not appear like someone wakes up, realizes they have an addiction to gambling, and then walks into the ER.
- stronglikedan 16d ago
  > is the sense that it wont immediately bankrupt you, yes, they are different. also in the sense that you'll wait for a looong time to get treatment
  - deleted 16d ago
    [deleted]
  - john_strinlai 16d ago
    the reason i brought up cost is because gambling addicts having a mental crisis are not typically sitting on piles of cash. a canadian gambling addict would be more willing to visit the ER than a us one because of the cost of the visit. the pay vs. wait argument is a fun one, but im not super interested in hashing it out here
  - lurker_72 16d ago
    Maybe, maybe not. Our system is based on triage so if you are in dire need you go first. A few years ago I thought I broke some ribs in a snowboarding accident (turns out it was just 3 cracked ribs). Got to the ER, was given some pain medication and help breathing and was waiting for treatment when someone ran over 2 elderly people in front of the hospital. Their need was greater than mine so they took priority while I spent about 6 hours waiting. Last week I had my first heart attack. In this case I was the one that was immediately helped, stabilized, transferred to another hospital where they installed 2 stents and then back to my local hospital ICU all within 2 hours. If it weren’t for our system I would not be here today. Most stories about hours in ER waiting rooms simply don't take the severity of the issue into account and just generalize. Not saying that there are not issues, but I am so tired of the blanket anecdotal complaints
    - qwerpy 16d ago
      Dang. You're young and healthy enough to do intense snowboarding, and then a few years later suffer a heart attack? Glad you're doing better now, and thanks for the reminder to try to take care of my health.
  - LetsGetTechnicl 16d ago
    You also wait a looooong time to get treatment at an ER in the US too, unless you're actively dying, and sometimes even if you are.
    - KevinMS 16d ago
      never been my experience
      - deleted 15d ago
        [deleted]
      - LetsGetTechnicl 15d ago
        And I imagine you've never experienced a Canadian ER, so what now?
finghin 16d ago
Self-harm and suicide attempts account for some situations, I think following that you can imagine others. The article mentions that 70% include other mental health disorders, with a gambling addiction as a contributing factor for presentation.
nkrisc 16d ago
If you’re in the midst of some kind of crisis, whether physical or mental, it’s somewhere safe you can go that’s available 24/7. From there they can keep you safe until you’re stabilized (physically or mentally) and then refer you to specialists or hospitalize you.
- SoftTalker 16d ago
  The ERs I'm familiar with would look at you, see that you're not bleeding out or having a heart attack or stroke, and then you'd sit in the waiting room for six hours to finally be seen by an intern who would send you out with a psych referral (probably booked out months in advance).
freediddy 16d ago
I had the same question. I'm guessing that they tried to commit suicide or something but didn't think we could handle hearing that so they didn't mention it in the article.

> Emergency room visits for gambling disorders Are Canadian ERs different than ERs in the U.S.? Why would one go to an emergency room, seek emergency treatment, for a gambling disorder?

john_strinlai 16d ago

is the sense that it wont immediately bankrupt you, yes, they are different. but my skimming of the study itself is that something else occurs (mental episode of some sort, such as anxiety attacks or suicide attempts, etc.) and gambling is noted as a primary or contributing factor in the billing code. it does not appear like someone wakes up, realizes they have an addiction to gambling, and then walks into the ER.

stronglikedan 16d ago
> is the sense that it wont immediately bankrupt you, yes, they are different. also in the sense that you'll wait for a looong time to get treatment
- deleted 16d ago
  [deleted]
- john_strinlai 16d ago
  the reason i brought up cost is because gambling addicts having a mental crisis are not typically sitting on piles of cash. a canadian gambling addict would be more willing to visit the ER than a us one because of the cost of the visit. the pay vs. wait argument is a fun one, but im not super interested in hashing it out here
- lurker_72 16d ago
  Maybe, maybe not. Our system is based on triage so if you are in dire need you go first. A few years ago I thought I broke some ribs in a snowboarding accident (turns out it was just 3 cracked ribs). Got to the ER, was given some pain medication and help breathing and was waiting for treatment when someone ran over 2 elderly people in front of the hospital. Their need was greater than mine so they took priority while I spent about 6 hours waiting. Last week I had my first heart attack. In this case I was the one that was immediately helped, stabilized, transferred to another hospital where they installed 2 stents and then back to my local hospital ICU all within 2 hours. If it weren’t for our system I would not be here today. Most stories about hours in ER waiting rooms simply don't take the severity of the issue into account and just generalize. Not saying that there are not issues, but I am so tired of the blanket anecdotal complaints
  - qwerpy 16d ago
    Dang. You're young and healthy enough to do intense snowboarding, and then a few years later suffer a heart attack? Glad you're doing better now, and thanks for the reminder to try to take care of my health.
- LetsGetTechnicl 16d ago
  You also wait a looooong time to get treatment at an ER in the US too, unless you're actively dying, and sometimes even if you are.
  - KevinMS 16d ago
    never been my experience
    - deleted 15d ago
      [deleted]
    - LetsGetTechnicl 15d ago
      And I imagine you've never experienced a Canadian ER, so what now?

finghin 16d ago

Self-harm and suicide attempts account for some situations, I think following that you can imagine others. The article mentions that 70% include other mental health disorders, with a gambling addiction as a contributing factor for presentation.

nkrisc 16d ago

If you’re in the midst of some kind of crisis, whether physical or mental, it’s somewhere safe you can go that’s available 24/7. From there they can keep you safe until you’re stabilized (physically or mentally) and then refer you to specialists or hospitalize you.

SoftTalker 16d ago
The ERs I'm familiar with would look at you, see that you're not bleeding out or having a heart attack or stroke, and then you'd sit in the waiting room for six hours to finally be seen by an intern who would send you out with a psych referral (probably booked out months in advance).

freediddy 16d ago

I had the same question. I'm guessing that they tried to commit suicide or something but didn't think we could handle hearing that so they didn't mention it in the article.