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No Vacancy: When the Emergency Room Becomes a Waiting Room While EDs still provide excellent and timely care for emergent situations, patients with non-emergent concerns often wait hours in crowded waiting rooms for medical evaluations. When patients are unable to return home and hospitalization is indicated, “inpatient” care begins and sometimes even ends right where the healthcare journey began: the emergency room. Patients who wait hours--or even days--before being admitted to the hospital are often referred to as emergency department boarders. Believe it or not, a hospital is a lot like a hotel. Like hotels, hospitals have a limited number of available rooms. While a NO VACANCY sign glows brightly when there is no room at the inn, EDs never close, even when hospitals are already at capacity. During this time, if more patients “check in” than “check out” of the hospital, room demand exceeds supply, and admitted patients must often wait in the ED—sometimes even in hallways—to receive continued care. As you might guess, ED boarding is not just inconvenient, but studies show that ED overcrowding is associated with higher costs of care and adverse health outcomes. So what can you do to help? A recent study suggests that up to half of all emergency room visits are for non-urgent complaints. One important consideration is to explore alternative health care options for non-urgent care. That’s easy for Dr. T. to say, but how do YOU know if emergency department care is right for you the next time you are not feeling well? Glad you asked, read on for more information! |
