Do you have any clue how much it costs to go the the ER?

Question

What kind of problem or illness would make you go to the emergency room before you go to your doctor?

Answer 1

The cost depends on what you have and what kinds of tests they run. Patients should understand that when they go to the ER they will get a buttload more tests than they would at their own DR office because of the higher risk of liability if you miss something (lawyers love to point out during litigation the patient "felt sick enough to go to the ER and they didn't even find out what was wrong!"). In our ER it can range from $100-$2K+. The things that NEED to be seen in the ER would be Chest pain-mainly in the adult population, shortness of breath (more than normal if you have lung disease-you are always short of breath!), abdominal pain especially with fever/nausea/vomiting, excrutiating headache (please try some tylenol or motrin 1st!), sudden changes in your vision or speech, weakness in your arms or legs, facial drooping. Broken bones-yes they may just be splinted first so the swelling can go down over a few days before a cast is put on. A cut that might need stitches. The things that should not be in the ER: colds, sinus infections, illnesses that you have had for days and decide "I just can't take it anymore", people seeking narcotics, skin rashes with no other symptoms. It is always best to see your own dr.- they have your chart, know your history etc. Your physician can spend time with you-time the ER physicians may not have since they would also be caring for people with heart attacks, strokes, car accidents.....

Answer 2

I went to the ER a few months ago because of a suspected ruptured ovarian cyst. The hospital bill was over $600 ( I was there for about 2 hours - not including the almost 3 hours I spent in the waiting room). The doctor's bill was around $300 (he only spent about 5 minutes with me). The lab fees were around $250. I will never go to the ER again.....unless I actually believe that I'm dying.

Answer 3

It costs different amounts depending on how your insurance is set up. For me it's $100 unless you are admitted to the hospital in which case it's waived, but then you have to pay $100/day for up to 3 days at which point insurance pays the rest. If you're on public aid then it's free to you. If you don't have insurance then you will pay a flat fee (probably $300-$500) plus the costs of any services performed such as lab work, x-rays etc.

I would have to be pretty sure my life was in danger before I'd go to the ER. Otherwise I'd wait until I could see my doctor or go to an outpatient acute care medical office.

Answer 4

It averages about $1,000 to go to the ER, but it depends on what needs to be done. For instance if a person is having a heart attack they need to go to the ER. They would die if they waited for a doc appointment. Also a bad car accident would go to the ER. Also a person bleeding to death needs to go to the ER. Severe pain would also take a person to the ER

Answer 5

I went and believe that min. charge is-or was for my chest pains fatige. 75$ nurse,$300 for the Dr to tell me nothing but check me with the stethescope 8 times. So it was like $400 for them to tell me nothing and run no test, later that day my Dr called and said I had mono from prior blood tests. ER drs will do nothing if you dont have any major signs failure, my er Dr even told me to find someone else to talk to and came back 15mins later and said its all in my head... So big waste of time, even with broken bones they just ease it with painkillers and set up another day.

Answer 6

chest pain is the most frequent for normal people, poor people go for flu...min spent there is 1000 and if you have tests, multiply by 5.

Answer 7

well i went once for chest pains..it was no more them 1000