Hospital Emergency Departments -What You Need to Know Before You Go
In 2005, the latest data from the Center for Disease Control, approximately one-fifth of the U.S. population had made one or more Emergency Department (ED) visits within the past 12 months. From 1996 through 2006 the number of hospitals EDs decreased from 4,019 to 3,833, thus added to the annual number of visits per ED.
Under normal conditions, on average most patients would see a physician in less than an hour with 70 percent spending less than 4 hours at the ED. But what happens when a deepening of the swine flu (H1N1) forces additional school closings in the United States. According to the New York Daily News the wait for care at some hospital emergency rooms was growing dramatically - up to 10 hours in some places.
So what are some of the things you can do?
· Put the phone numbers for the hospitals, urgent care facilities and quick care facilities in your area in your cell phone memory. Call ahead requesting wait times.
· Know the level of care that hospitals in your area can provide. Some hospitals are staffed with specialists 24/7; most however will have specialists on a system of rotating call-in.
· Include the phone numbers for your primary care provider in you cell phone memory.
· Check in with the triage nurse on duty as soon as you can. Triage nurses are the air traffic controller of the ED and your scheduler to getting seen as quickly as possible.
· If possible avoid the ED between 4 p.m. and 1 a.m., the busiest shift. For the shortest wait, early morning -- anywhere from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. -- is your best bet.
· Come prepared have a summarized history of your health information. At minimum have a list of current medications (including over-the-counter), allergies, recent illness, surgeries and other health events.
In 2005, the latest data from the Center for Disease Control, approximately one-fifth of the U.S. population had made one or more Emergency Department (ED) visits within the past 12 months. From 1996 through 2006 the number of hospitals EDs decreased from 4,019 to 3,833, thus added to the annual number of visits per ED.
Under normal conditions, on average most patients would see a physician in less than an hour with 70 percent spending less than 4 hours at the ED. But what happens when a deepening of the swine flu (H1N1) forces additional school closings in the United States. According to the New York Daily News the wait for care at some hospital emergency rooms was growing dramatically - up to 10 hours in some places.
So what are some of the things you can do?
· Put the phone numbers for the hospitals, urgent care facilities and quick care facilities in your area in your cell phone memory. Call ahead requesting wait times.
· Know the level of care that hospitals in your area can provide. Some hospitals are staffed with specialists 24/7; most however will have specialists on a system of rotating call-in.
· Include the phone numbers for your primary care provider in you cell phone memory.
· Check in with the triage nurse on duty as soon as you can. Triage nurses are the air traffic controller of the ED and your scheduler to getting seen as quickly as possible.
· If possible avoid the ED between 4 p.m. and 1 a.m., the busiest shift. For the shortest wait, early morning -- anywhere from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. -- is your best bet.
· Come prepared have a summarized history of your health information. At minimum have a list of current medications (including over-the-counter), allergies, recent illness, surgeries and other health events.
