8 THINGS TO DO WHEN GOING TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM

in #health6 years ago

I have been an emergency medicine physician for over 20 years. I’ve also taken my children to the ER when they have been sick. Being sick enough to where you feel it is necessary to go to the ER is often scary, always time consuming, and since you won’t always be thinking clearly (when you are that sick), here are some tips to make your ER visit a little less stressful, more efficient, and more likely to result in a positive outcome.

  1. Tell your provider everything you are experiencing, even if it seems unrelated to your primary complaint. I can’t tell you how many times I am about to leave the room of someone who just told me their whole story and had denied any other issues and then I say, “anything else you want to tell me”? And then comes the clue that gives me the answer to what is happening. Details are important. Details about your illness that is, NOT details about what you had for dinner two nights ago or about the argument you had with your spouse when they tried talking you into going to the ER.
  2. If you just had surgery at a particular hospital, go to the same hospital for whatever problem you are now experiencing. This makes sense for many reasons and you would be surprised how often this rule is broken. Granted, if your surgery was 2 hours away and you have a high fever and severe pain then go to the closest ER, but otherwise, it’s much easier to get old records and consult with your surgeon if you go to the same hospital.
  3. Don’t talk or text on your cell phone while the doctor is in the room. This is a pet peeve of mine. When this happens your doctor or nurse will likely go out to the nurse’s station and complain to their fellow workers that the patient (you) care more about whatever is happening on your phone than you do about the illness that brought you there.
  4. Call your doctor or your child’s pediatrician before going to the ER. They can often temporize a solution for you until you can get to the office the next morning and so may allow you to skip the ER altogether. Don’t forget, there should always be someone on call for your physician with whom you can speak. Obviously if you are having severe chest pain or any other serious issue, don’t bother with this step.
  5. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Studies show that only a small percentage of patients leaving the ER fully understand their discharge instructions or how to take any new medications. If you are not sure you understand what to eat or when to follow-up or how to take any new medicine….ASK.
  6. Consider waiting for a less busy time to go the ER. 7am is a lot less busy than 7pm. 11 pm is a lot less busy than 11am. This obviously only applies to a non-critical illness. For example, a sore throat or a sprained ankle. In general, the slowest times in the ER are 10pm until about 10am.
  7. We won’t always figure out what is wrong with you. Our main job as emergency medicine providers is to figure out how sick you are and how to approach treatment. That means we may not make a final diagnosis. It’s better to have very serious issues ruled out and not have a final diagnosis than to have a very serious issue.
  8. Last but not least, here is a list of things to bring with you: medication list, diagnosis list, allergy list, insurance card, list of your doctors and specialists with their phone numbers.
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