richardhutnik on 03 August 2011
| Viper1 said: There are free and cheap clinics popping up in lots of places. Even some wal-marts now have independent clinics in them. So why not use the e-room for non-emergency issues? Expense is the big one. Far too Americans already go to the emergency room for non-emergency use and that pushes costs up for people with real emergencies. If you have a cough, don't go the damn e-room for that. Are you sneezing? Don't go to the e-room. Save that triage slot at the e-room for somebody that's having serious chest pains. Overuse of the e-room for non-emergency issues is bad and it's getting worse. In 1996, 67 million Americans went to the e-room. In 2006, the number was 119 million. That just don't jive with natural rate of population increase. The last thing we need to is to tell more people to go for more non-emergency issues. |
What do you think happens when health care costs drive health care out of the price range of more and more people? If people start to learn that emergency rooms won't turn them away, and they can get out of their bill pleading poverty, why won't they go? If the American culture is one driven by reacting to crisises that happen, rather than proactively working to limit them, why wouldn't you see this happen?
