Going to the Emergency Room

This page on HealthMBA.com is about the common layout and procedures for using a hospital's emergency room. It is a very hectic and stressful environment, but it is a great relief to realize that there are hard working, expert physicians who can stabilize and treat urgent, life threatening conditions.

The unexpected times when you have an accident, or your sickness is getting worse, you can be thankful to have some place to go for emergency treatment at all hours. Commonly if you break a bone or get a deep cut, you will need immediate medical attention, and either by getting a ride in your own automobile or calling for an ambulance you can get to the hospital and pull into the special entrance to the Emergency Department for rapid evaluation, consultation and treatment. The emergency entrance, kept clear for ambulances to make a swift entrance, in the initial point where the triage, or evaluation and prioritization, is performed and those with the most serious conditions will be admitted and treated first.

The primary categories are immediately life-threatening; urgent, but not immediately life-threatening; and less urgent. Car accident victims often have serious injuries and are rushed in and treated with the greatest urgency, and those who may have painful but less serious conditions may have to wait a little while. It is somewhat of a common practice to go to the emergency department as a circumvention for adhering to backed up appointment schedules of the doctor's office. Patients with less immediate conditions find that they can utilize the emergency room facilities at any time for medical consultation, but that does tend to congest and over tax the staff when there are many more urgent patients. Typically, since emergency rooms are so busy and hectic, a patient with a broken arm or a bad flu will have to wait in a stand-by room until things have settled down.

For those who won't require immediate treatment this waiting period also involves completing registration paperwork and having a technician take vital signs. This is where you will also provide information about your health insurance and locate further medical records to help fill out your medical history. Urgent patients can usually complete this step later once their condition has been stabilized. Once a slot is open for you, an examination room will be be available for you to consult with a nurse and to have an emergency medicine physician take a closer look. This may involve some in-depth testing, such as a blood or urine sample or X-rays. They physical may also hold a sort of interview with the patient to run through a list of conditions and health factors that would help to diagnose the ailment.

For the less serious cases the treatment in the emergency room will be fairly quick and basic, with an appointment with a doctor for a follow-up examination. With a more serious condition it may take time to stabilize and ensure that the patient has been properly diagnosed and treated, and they may need to stay in a critical care section so that the medical staff can keep a close watch on the vital signs for any changes. The expertise and dedication of the emergency room physicians give great hope and security for help in times of great need and greatly raise the chances for saving lives and speedy recoveries.