Who do Emergency rooms take so long to wait?

Answer 1

Very good question,Iwork in a hospitol and still havent figuired that one out.I can maybe give a few possible reasons.One would be and I truly hope Im wrong,but seems that in a non emergency situatin that the ER doctor act like they are on a schedule and will get to you on their time.I also relise that depending on the time of day the Doc may be resting most work very long shifts,kinda like fireman they stay at the hospitol 24 hours at a time.But I truly believe that their best interest is in the patient.They may have several patients waiting to be seen by them,and to evaulate all it takes time.Then there are xrays blood test,etc,that take a while to be checked,before the Doc can make a decision on how to treat you.Then they get into situations that may require some minor surgery,stitches etc.that takes time.I have seen our Er at times jammed full with patients add that up to the fact that the doc is under the gun to see and treat all these foliks and to give them the best treatment possible this can be very time consuming.Then on the other hand I have been in doctors office for an appointment and have sat for very long periods of time.The positive thing about Emergency Rooms are you dont need an appointment,and you dont get tuned away or told we can fit you in today.

Answer 2

I work in an emergency room and never understood it until I got the job. Emergency rooms go in the order of acuity. This means the sickest patients are treated first. Also, depending on what you're there for you may be waiting for them to clear the bed they want to put you in. EX: If you were there for stitches you would be placed "in line" to go to a suture room, so even though someone came in 15 min after you for a headache they might go back first. A big factor, which is obvious, is how busy they are. The mornings are usually the slowest. The worst time of year is Jan-April. There are many factors causing the long wait in ER's, unfortunately there's not much we or the patients can do to help that. We have to meet the acute patient's needs. I wish I had a better explaination, but that's what I've learned by working at a large level 1 trauma center for children. We try to go as fast as possible without compromising patient care. Would you want to be rushed out before the doctor figured out what's wrong just because someone doesn't want to wait a few more minutes (usually more) in the waiting room. The bottom line is, if you're really sick or have a bad injury, you will not wait. If you feel like you're getting worse while waiting, let someone know. People's conditions can change and aren't how they always initially appear to be.
Another big reason I forgot to mention is the face that due to our lack of medical coverage for people they abuse the use of an er. They don't have to pay anything if they go to one, where as they would have to pay something at the doctor's office. Also, people come for their "regular" check ups when they don't want to or don't have a primary doctor. This abuse of the system is one of my biggest pet peeves. At the hospital we have a whole section devoted to this little stuff that can be taken care of at home or in a doctor's office. It's not uncommon for someone to bring one of their kids in for a broken arm and decide to get all of her6 children checked out for colds. Is this really necessary? So instead of being able to treat the actual injured child the doctor has to balance that with the 6 other children so that they can still keep the flow going and try to get things in faster. Just thought I mention that.
So the next time you are in an er, remember, everyone is waiting so they can better the care for every patient.

Answer 3

A major reason for the long wait in major emergency rooms is the lack of reasonably priced health care and insurance. Those without insurance go to the emergency room where they will not be turned away for not being able to pay. In many cases these are non-emergencies or have been let go until they became emergencies because other health care options are not available.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, over time, we have come to misuse our Emergency rooms. For example, we have cold symptoms and because we "believe" an antibiotic (prescription only) will help, we go to the emergency room instead of going to an urgent care facility. If we ever begin to use ERs for true emergencies, we will restore the speed of service in ERs.

Answer 5

because people that don't have a real emergency go to the hospital when they should just wait and go to their doctor. If you have a real emergency, car accident, chest pain, etc....you will not have to wait.

Answer 6

Shortage of Dr.s and they take the more serious patients first. It also takes time waiting on blood tests and x-ray tests before they let other people ahead of you leave.

Answer 7

they dont if it is a real emergency,life or death they are dealt with at once