ER "fast food" Medicine

ER "fast food" Medicine ???? 

By Bill VanBurkleo, D.O. FAEP

  I'm  always  surprised at the perceived function of the  Emergency Department by some people. Some think that the Emergency Department  is like  a "fast food" facility with similar prices.  They quickly find out that the Emergency Department is busy and that their problem is triaged or classified as to the severity. If their problem is triaged as minor  they will have a long wait. The cost of an Emergency  Department visit  is also close to ten times what it would have been at a doctor's office.  Of course, there are many people that  think that Emergency Department visits are free only to have a rude awakening when the  bills begin to arrive.

   These same people think there is a "silver lining" on the horizon with the Democrats proposing "Universal health care". That will be another rude awaking when they wait 3 or 4 months for surgery or the government tells them that they won't provide health care if they do any of the things they consider detrimental to health. See my November 2007 article on "National Health Care "

   Some think that the Emergency Department is a 24 hour drug dispensary and that just because they are unable to sleep that they should  be able  to come in and get something to help them sleep. Some think that they should be able to call the Emergency Department doctor and  request a medicine and that the doctor should just call it in to a pharmacy for them even if the doctor has never seem them. No doctor should ever call-in  a prescription for someone that has not been seen by that doctor. The policy at most Emergency Departments is that no prescriptions are written until then patient has personally been evaluated by the ER physician and the necessity of the medicine has been determined.
   Many people think that medical personal should be able to  cure all ills irregardless of what the patient's life style or activities might be. I see infants in the Emergency Department that have wheezing, cough, and can barely breath. The parents will say the child has been sick  for weeks and  has been to several doctors and none of them are any  good because their child is still sick. Yet, I find out that  both of the parents smoke and not only do the parents refuse to quit or at least not smoke  in the house, they deny that their smoking is related to  the continued ill health of the child.
   I  see adults with emphysema that come in every week and  gripe  that doctors don't know what they are doing because no one seems to be  able to  get  them well. And, they know for a fact that it can't  be  because they smoke  a pack of cigarettes a day. Why? Because  their granddaddy smoked a pack everyday and he lived to be 90 years old.
   And then there's the cowboy with the sprained knee that can't  understand  why after two weeks since the injury he isn't well. Yes,  he assures me that he has not been walking on it. But, he did have to work so he's  been "cuttin' cows" on horseback. Any of you that have done this know where the stress is on your body.
   Today, there are several things known that will adversely affect  our health. Many people still deny. That is until they are dying and then we hear it over and over, "Oh, I wish I had never started smoking." Or,  "I wish I had taken my medicine like I was supposed to."
   Look around you.  See what your health hazards are.  Look at  your situation.  Are you contributing to your own ill health or to your own inability to get well ? If you find things like smoking or alcohol or drug abuse but refuse to stop, then accept the consequences. Try to  not be upset with us as we give our "STOP" lecture. We know what you will be like in a few years. And, we know how those "if only I had done this or that" feelings will gnaw at you as you lay upon our Emergency Department cots suffocating from diseased lungs or turning jaundice from a failing liver. Yes...yes I know that there are other causes for these conditions. And, I know that one may never have had a drop of liquor in ones life and still be suffering from a failing liver. However, other than "old age", an abusive lifestyle is overwhelmingly the usual cause of bodily system failures.  Medicine can not cure everything. Doctors do not know everything. Mistakes happen as do misdiagnosis. Irregardless, in the majority of cases, you are the one ultimately responsible for your health. Get  rid of the poor health risk factors. Understand that an ill or injured  bodyneeds rest. And, find a physician that can treat you on a regular basis so that your health needs become well know to you and to you doctor.


02-10-2008 22:00 Bill VanBurkleo Published in Health, Newsletter

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