Everyone knows it is more expensive in many ways to have non-emergency patients receive care in the ER. There are other dynamics at play. Below is an article from 2010 stating how the ER visits of non-emergency patients have gone up.
That isn't the point. The point is when patients go to the ER for SYMPTOMATIC aches and pains, they are receiving care too late. There are many people that are diagnosed for the first time with cancer in the ER. Why? Because they haven't received regular check-ups, annual preventive tests and they postpone care for financial reasons.
I know for a fact this happens. I have witnessed patients facing 'end stage' cancer with their only diagnosis coming in the emergency room when they really weren't feeling good.
Any idea what that does to a patient? To a family? The patient is already scared about the cost to begin with once he/she is admitted, but, to realize that as a family member he/she won't be contributing to the well being of the family, won't see the kids next Christmas morning, won't be there for graduation, weddings, etc. These are usually very hard working people. They work for the support of their families and all of a sudden life changes in an instant for everyone.
There is no treatment for a family facing devastation when their loved one is suddenly removed from their lives. It doesn't matter whether it is a man or woman they are the bread winners in the family.
I AM SICK OF IT!
The greed of Wall Street kills more than the uninsured every year. They kill people without insurance or lousy insurance with high deductibles unable to take care of themselves and their families. Either we believe our country is above sentencing people to death for the lack of SUFFICIENT health care or we don't. Either we hold our morality in esteem of human life or we don't.
Sure. ER visits are expensive. But. What is more expensive is supporting families when they lose their bread winner and have to rely on social programs their Congress likes to cut to the bone.
That isn't the point. The point is when patients go to the ER for SYMPTOMATIC aches and pains, they are receiving care too late. There are many people that are diagnosed for the first time with cancer in the ER. Why? Because they haven't received regular check-ups, annual preventive tests and they postpone care for financial reasons.
I know for a fact this happens. I have witnessed patients facing 'end stage' cancer with their only diagnosis coming in the emergency room when they really weren't feeling good.
Any idea what that does to a patient? To a family? The patient is already scared about the cost to begin with once he/she is admitted, but, to realize that as a family member he/she won't be contributing to the well being of the family, won't see the kids next Christmas morning, won't be there for graduation, weddings, etc. These are usually very hard working people. They work for the support of their families and all of a sudden life changes in an instant for everyone.
There is no treatment for a family facing devastation when their loved one is suddenly removed from their lives. It doesn't matter whether it is a man or woman they are the bread winners in the family.
I AM SICK OF IT!
The greed of Wall Street kills more than the uninsured every year. They kill people without insurance or lousy insurance with high deductibles unable to take care of themselves and their families. Either we believe our country is above sentencing people to death for the lack of SUFFICIENT health care or we don't. Either we hold our morality in esteem of human life or we don't.
Sure. ER visits are expensive. But. What is more expensive is supporting families when they lose their bread winner and have to rely on social programs their Congress likes to cut to the bone.
August 18, 2010
...According to a recent study by Press Ganey, (click here) the average length of stay in an American emergency room (ER) increased last year to more than four hours. Multiply that by the 123 million who use the ER each year, and it adds up to nearly 5 million hours spent waiting for care.
A big reason for the wait – up to 70 percent of ER visits are not for actual emergencies1.
Paul Karazija, M.D., Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield chief medical officer, notes that using the ER for non-emergencies impacts the entire health care system. Patients waste time waiting in crowded hospitals, and money in the form of higher copays and deductibles Insurers pay larger bills, which impacts future insurance premiums. And inappropriate use places a burden on already stretched doctors and hospitals, and may result in delays for patients who truly need emergency care.
The first step in seeking care in the appropriate setting is to understand the care continuum, which begins with a phone call to your health care provider, and ends with the hospital ER...
