Healthcare - Urgentcare
Facts have to be written out now. Many know them and there is no denial. Healthcare, especially Emergency care/Urgent care in the United States is worse compared to other countries around the globe. With lots of paperwork and procedures, Emergency Rooms (ER) are the places of waiting lounges similar to a bus or a train station.
Last week was my turn again to be the victim of such a system which doesn't seem to improve in the near future. An ER patient is treated like an outpatient with no urge for urgency. My wife and I drove to the ER by 10:00am Sunday morning because of my abdominal pain. By the time I finished the paperwork, it was 11:30am. Up to 1pm, we two were sitting waiting to be called in for the first look by the nurse. One of the worst rules of ER - "Do not eat or drink anything till the doctor sees you." This is all it takes to make a patient become impatient ;). From 10am to 2pm, the period when I felt like lying down, I never had a chance to do that. When I asked the nurse outside, she reluctantly told, "You need to wait for your turn. There is no place in here for you to lay down."
At last, I was taken in, put on a bed. Nurse came in and then vanished for the next 30 minutes. Slowly, more paperwork for my wife. My wife was new to all these procedures. With full dilemma and confusion, she learned a lot in utter silence (because I wasn't in a position to explain her every bit). In intervals, doctors kept coming in. By 3pm, ER physician had a look and ordered for a CT scan. By 5pm, scan was complete. By 6pm, one surgeon arrived looking at the scan and told, "You need a surgery tomorrow." I explained him more about the symptoms and suddenly, he went out to send one more doctor an hour later. It was 7pm or so when another physician came to tell me - "You have infection and no surgery is required. You need to stay here and we will monitor you to bring down the infection." That was the time when they decided to shift me out of ER to a ward.
For nearly 3 hours, there were no signs of shifting me out of ER. ER is a very "happening" place where every minute people keep roaming and patients keep rushing in and out. When I was still in the ER, more confusion among the nurses - One came with a big portable X-ray machine. "Are you Marie?" Seeing me, she felt, "oh no, it is not. I got the wrong sheet." After 2 mins, she got one more sheet, "Are you Nancy? oh no! I am looking for a female." She didn't appear after this ;).
By 10:30pm, I was finally in the ward to stay there for the next 40 hours or so. Till now, I was told not to eat or drink anything. I felt that, if I had eaten or had some fruit juice or something during those past 12 hours, I would have been in a better position with substantial energy in the body.
Whatever it is. The story compared to my previous ER experience and this one has something in common. Both times, I myself drove to ER and my brother drove me home out of the hospital :). Not to forget - Both ER visits made me wait for 12 hours! 12 hours is by no means a short waiting time!!! Totally ridiculous and unacceptable.
Last week was my turn again to be the victim of such a system which doesn't seem to improve in the near future. An ER patient is treated like an outpatient with no urge for urgency. My wife and I drove to the ER by 10:00am Sunday morning because of my abdominal pain. By the time I finished the paperwork, it was 11:30am. Up to 1pm, we two were sitting waiting to be called in for the first look by the nurse. One of the worst rules of ER - "Do not eat or drink anything till the doctor sees you." This is all it takes to make a patient become impatient ;). From 10am to 2pm, the period when I felt like lying down, I never had a chance to do that. When I asked the nurse outside, she reluctantly told, "You need to wait for your turn. There is no place in here for you to lay down."
At last, I was taken in, put on a bed. Nurse came in and then vanished for the next 30 minutes. Slowly, more paperwork for my wife. My wife was new to all these procedures. With full dilemma and confusion, she learned a lot in utter silence (because I wasn't in a position to explain her every bit). In intervals, doctors kept coming in. By 3pm, ER physician had a look and ordered for a CT scan. By 5pm, scan was complete. By 6pm, one surgeon arrived looking at the scan and told, "You need a surgery tomorrow." I explained him more about the symptoms and suddenly, he went out to send one more doctor an hour later. It was 7pm or so when another physician came to tell me - "You have infection and no surgery is required. You need to stay here and we will monitor you to bring down the infection." That was the time when they decided to shift me out of ER to a ward.
For nearly 3 hours, there were no signs of shifting me out of ER. ER is a very "happening" place where every minute people keep roaming and patients keep rushing in and out. When I was still in the ER, more confusion among the nurses - One came with a big portable X-ray machine. "Are you Marie?" Seeing me, she felt, "oh no, it is not. I got the wrong sheet." After 2 mins, she got one more sheet, "Are you Nancy? oh no! I am looking for a female." She didn't appear after this ;).
By 10:30pm, I was finally in the ward to stay there for the next 40 hours or so. Till now, I was told not to eat or drink anything. I felt that, if I had eaten or had some fruit juice or something during those past 12 hours, I would have been in a better position with substantial energy in the body.
Whatever it is. The story compared to my previous ER experience and this one has something in common. Both times, I myself drove to ER and my brother drove me home out of the hospital :). Not to forget - Both ER visits made me wait for 12 hours! 12 hours is by no means a short waiting time!!! Totally ridiculous and unacceptable.
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