Woman refuses to wear mask in ER

[kaytieeldr]

At least today some of the Urgent Cares do have the ability for you to go to them for broken bones though I don't know the scope of what they can do.

Which it why it pays to investigate now (then periodically) what services are offered by which Urgent Care(s) nearby.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Which it why it pays to investigate now (then periodically) what services are offered by which Urgent Care(s) nearby.

Agreed.

 

[TLSnell1981]

But you do understand what you have available does not mean it's available everywhere, right? We have urgent cares and they accept walk ins, have x-ray machines, everything. But they're not 24/7. If you're comfortable waiting until the next day (or work day) for a non-ER office to be open, no one is saying YOU have to go to the ER. If others are willing to pay the extra cost to get their injury looked at, so be it.

Often those who opt for the ER in non emergency situations have no insurance. They don’t pay more...hospital ends up writing it off.

 

[monsterkitty]

This is part of the problem with our healthcare costs. People go to the ER for non emergencies. There are numerous ortho physicians here with diagnostic equipment in their offices. Many accept walk-Ins and some are open after hours. Our urgent care facilities also have diagnostic machines. Both options are far less expensive and quicker than the ER. I wouldn't go to the ER for a suspected fracture. It would have to be protruding before I would sit there for hours, take time away from true emergencies or pay the enormous bill.

But not all health insurance companies cover the urgent care bills. Or some will cover going to a particular urgent care, but they don't cover the doctor who sees you. Then the patient gets stuck with an overinflated bill that is way more than going to an ER.

My health care provider is open from 8-6 during the week and limited hours on Saturday. If I break a bone on Saturday night I will call the after hours number. They will then tell me to go to the ER.

I was a paramedic when I first started teaching a long time ago. The calls we got were sometimes incredibly ridiculous, I'll give you that. However, what is not an emergency to one person is an emergency to another. I have a co-worker whose DH's body goes into shock with minor injuries. The injury might not be life-threatening, but shock is. So when he was rear ended in a car accident and got minor whiplash, he passed out from shock. When he fell from a ladder and broke his ankle, he passed out from shock. Those are true emergencies and an ER is the best place for those emergencies.

So we can't always judge how we would handle something different from another person. My doctor knows that if I call, it's big. My best friend has the same doctor. If she calls he has to always say the same thing that she needs to wait because he's not going to prescribe her antibiotics for the common cold that is making its way through town.

 

[sam_gordon]

Often those who opt for the ER in non emergency situations have no insurance. They don’t pay more...hospital ends up writing it off.

So those of us in this thread that have admitted going to the ER for broken bones "have no insurance"? Why does their insurance level matter? More than likely an ER is going to do an x-ray to confirm the break, cast it, and tell the patient to follow up with ortho. But, at least the break is now in a cast and they don't need to worry about getting into ortho the next day.

 

[ronandannette]

The ortho docs in the hospital system I work for won’t see you without an X-ray or some kind of imaging. You can’t just call up most specialists and say “I think I broke my finger. Can I get an appointment?” It doesn’t work that way.

she could’ve waited until the next day, called or saw her pcp, gotten a script for an X-ray, got the X-ray done and then called the ortho If her pcp referred her and gives her a referral (depending on insurance).

I don’t think she did anything wrong by going to the ER. I’ve seen people go into the ER for far far far less. A broken bone is a legit reason for an ER visit.

The subject of the story is Canadian - it doesn't work that way here. As has been mentioned, an urgent care facility (where available) or the ER is the play for a suspected broken bone. If you called your GP and wanted an appointment for that (and you have to tell them what you are being seen for) they would tell you to attend at one of the above as soon as possible.

 

[TLSnell1981]

So those of us in this thread that have admitted going to the ER for broken bones "have no insurance"? Why does their insurance level matter? More than likely an ER is going to do an x-ray to confirm the break, cast it, and tell the patient to follow up with ortho. But, at least the break is now in a cast and they don't need to worry about getting into ortho the next day.

Oh good grief! Not what I meant at all. What one pays OOP matters to some. This conversation started with a "suspected" broken finger. If it was "broken" you would know. There is a significant difference between a simple and compound fracture...also what is affected. And it's possible you wouldn't leave in a cast due to concerns of swelling. You might leave with it wrapped and maybe something for pain. You would still need a follow up to an ortho for a new cast.