A User’s Guide to the Emergency Room
When you’re really sick or in pain and don’t know why, do you know where to go for help? Is an emergency room too much? Urgent care not enough? Should you just call a doctor? And if it’s an emergency, why does the hospital make you wait?
Understanding Urgent Care
An urgent care center is usually the right choice for non-life-threatening conditions: fever, flu-like symptoms, minor burns, and strains, sprains or other manageable pain.
“With the loss of the family physician as a timely option for care, since most no longer have same-day appointments, patients are often left having to manage their own care,” said Mike Oxenford, RN, Director of Emergency Services at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center. “Urgent care fills the void between a general practitioner and the emergency department.”
When It’s Time for the ED
For some symptoms, there’s no debate. Call 9-1-1 if you lose consciousness, have signs of a heart attack or stroke, have difficulty breathing or experience a life- or a limb-threatening injury. If you pass out, are short of breath or have extreme pain with no obvious cause, an emergency department (ED) is the better choice.
An ED also is the right place to treat uncontrolled bleeding, a head injury or seizures. Specialists like board-certified emergency physicians, neurologists and cardiologists are available in an ED 24/7 to help diagnose and treat conditions like these. At Shady Grove, pediatric specialists are also on hand in an ED just for children. To get answers quickly in a serious emergency, an ED also has around-the-clock lab and imaging services.
It’s an Emergency. Why Am I Waiting So Long?
An ED is not first come, first served. The sickest patients are always seen first. Shortly after patients arrive to the ED, they undergo triage, a brief exam to determine how quickly a doctor needs to see them compared to other waiting patients. As time passes, if more patients arrive with grave conditions, they will jump the line.
“Patients with immediate, emergent needs are seen sooner and their treatment takes longer than urgent, semi-urgent or non-urgent patients,” Mike said.
In general, the less severe your ailments or injury, the longer the wait. You also might experience long waits when:
- Seasonal issues like the flu cause overcrowding
- Many patients arrive at one time, straining resources
- Caregiver staffing is limited
- Radiology and laboratory results are needed
- Specialist physicians must be called in or consulted
- Patients in the ED who need to be admitted are waiting for inpatient beds to open
If you have a cold, cough, sore throat or symptoms you can manage, Mike suggests calling a primary care doctor. Also, by making time for regular visits to the doctor, you can head off conditions that could later develop into emergencies – saving time and money in the long run.
If you are experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency, call 9-1-1.
