12 simple rules to keep it as painless as possible.
By Jason Stevenson, Best Life
Fewer hospitals and shrinking budgets are making ERs more crowded and hectic than ever. Average wait times jumped from 38 minutes in 1997 to 56 minutes in 2006, while waits for heart-attack patients more than doubled in the same period. The good news is about 80 percent of ER visitors go home; the bad news is that sorting out the heart attacks from the gall-bladder attacks takes time. Here are a dozen smart strategies to ensure an ER visit that is short, easy, and productive.
Ask your doc to call ahead
Not only can your primary-care physician alert the ER that you are on the way, but your doctor can also relay your medical history to the staff and pull some strings to get you seen faster. And if you are among the 15 percent of ER visitors admitted to the hospital, you'll want your own doctor to be there to look after you. To be ready, add your doctor's after-hours number to your cell phone.
If you can, go early
The busiest time for ERs is 7 p.m., when 20 percent of the day's patients are present, so go in the morning if you can. "If you're not feeling well, don't delay," says John Ma, M.D., chair of the emergency medicine department at Oregon Health & Science University. For heart attacks and strokes, coming in an hour sooner can save your life.
Go to the hospital where you receive the majority of your care
ER doctors at your home hospital will have access to your electronic medical records within seconds, including old EKGs and X-rays. If you are traveling or at a different hospital, tell the doctor where you usually get your treatment; your medical records can be faxed over within a few minutes, says Dr. Ma. Many times, dispatchers route ambulances based on waiting times and geography. If you want to go to a specific hospital, tell the EMTs when they pick you up.
Be specific
Describe all of your symptoms in detail to the triage nurse, the ER's traffic cop who determines the order in which people are seen. "Be specific about where it hurts and how much," says Dr. Ma. "A statement like 'I've never had chest pain this bad in my life' will get the nurse's attention."
Bring a friend
"It's hard to update the triage nurse on your condition if you're in the bathroom vomiting," says Dr. Ma. If you head to a hospital alone, let a friend or colleague know so he or she can keep track of you and be your advocate.
Leave the kids at home
If a hospital's emergency room isn't a wonderful place for you, it's not going to be a fun or safe spot for your kids. Leave them with relatives or a neighbor.
Don't think an ambulance guarantees faster service
Patients with nonacute problems who arrive by ambulance end up waiting as long as patients who drove themselves to the ER, explains Assaad Sayah, M.D., chief of emergency medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts.
Arrive with your medical history
"Bringing a typed list of your medications, allergies, and conditions can save 15 minutes of time ... and your life," says Dr. Sayah. Your primary-care physician or pharmacy can print out a list to store in your wallet. If you take regular medications, bring the bottles to the ER; the dosages (and your doctor's name) are often written on the labels.
Check in with the triage nurse every 30 minutes
Occasional, polite reminders that you are waiting will help make sure you are seen. If your symptoms become worse, definitely speak up. "Patients shouldn't feel as if they're bothering the triage nurse," explains Dr. Ma. "Hospitals are service providers, and you should be served well." Because some ERs separate patients into two tracks—critical cases and express care—make sure you're waiting in the right group.
Ask questions
Questions such as "How long will this take?" and "What is the next step?" will let nurses and doctors know you expect to be informed and won't threaten them, says Dr. Sayah. But don't barrage your doctor with questions early on; he or she needs some time to figure out your problem.
Take full advantage of your face time with the doctor
Because ER doctors are being pulled in five directions at once, you need to keep their attention. "If a patient who is able to get changed on his own hasn't put on a gown before I walk into his room, I'll leave and focus on other tasks or the care of another patient, which may delay my returning for a while," says Dr. Sayah. Plus, describing all of your symptoms allows the doctor to order multiple tests at once, which can save you hours of wait time.
Ask before you eat or go to the bathroom
Food can complicate certain tests. And if they need a urine sample, it's better to collect it when your bladder is full than to wait an hour to pee again.
Ask your doc to call ahead
Not only can your primary-care physician alert the ER that you are on the way, but your doctor can also relay your medical history to the staff and pull some strings to get you seen faster. And if you are among the 15 percent of ER visitors admitted to the hospital, you'll want your own doctor to be there to look after you. To be ready, add your doctor's after-hours number to your cell phone.
If you can, go early
The busiest time for ERs is 7 p.m., when 20 percent of the day's patients are present, so go in the morning if you can. "If you're not feeling well, don't delay," says John Ma, M.D., chair of the emergency medicine department at Oregon Health & Science University. For heart attacks and strokes, coming in an hour sooner can save your life.
Go to the hospital where you receive the majority of your care
ER doctors at your home hospital will have access to your electronic medical records within seconds, including old EKGs and X-rays. If you are traveling or at a different hospital, tell the doctor where you usually get your treatment; your medical records can be faxed over within a few minutes, says Dr. Ma. Many times, dispatchers route ambulances based on waiting times and geography. If you want to go to a specific hospital, tell the EMTs when they pick you up.
Be specific
Describe all of your symptoms in detail to the triage nurse, the ER's traffic cop who determines the order in which people are seen. "Be specific about where it hurts and how much," says Dr. Ma. "A statement like 'I've never had chest pain this bad in my life' will get the nurse's attention."
Bring a friend
"It's hard to update the triage nurse on your condition if you're in the bathroom vomiting," says Dr. Ma. If you head to a hospital alone, let a friend or colleague know so he or she can keep track of you and be your advocate.
Leave the kids at home
If a hospital's emergency room isn't a wonderful place for you, it's not going to be a fun or safe spot for your kids. Leave them with relatives or a neighbor.
Don't think an ambulance guarantees faster service
Patients with nonacute problems who arrive by ambulance end up waiting as long as patients who drove themselves to the ER, explains Assaad Sayah, M.D., chief of emergency medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts.
Arrive with your medical history
"Bringing a typed list of your medications, allergies, and conditions can save 15 minutes of time ... and your life," says Dr. Sayah. Your primary-care physician or pharmacy can print out a list to store in your wallet. If you take regular medications, bring the bottles to the ER; the dosages (and your doctor's name) are often written on the labels.
Check in with the triage nurse every 30 minutes
Occasional, polite reminders that you are waiting will help make sure you are seen. If your symptoms become worse, definitely speak up. "Patients shouldn't feel as if they're bothering the triage nurse," explains Dr. Ma. "Hospitals are service providers, and you should be served well." Because some ERs separate patients into two tracks—critical cases and express care—make sure you're waiting in the right group.
Ask questions
Questions such as "How long will this take?" and "What is the next step?" will let nurses and doctors know you expect to be informed and won't threaten them, says Dr. Sayah. But don't barrage your doctor with questions early on; he or she needs some time to figure out your problem.
Take full advantage of your face time with the doctor
Because ER doctors are being pulled in five directions at once, you need to keep their attention. "If a patient who is able to get changed on his own hasn't put on a gown before I walk into his room, I'll leave and focus on other tasks or the care of another patient, which may delay my returning for a while," says Dr. Sayah. Plus, describing all of your symptoms allows the doctor to order multiple tests at once, which can save you hours of wait time.
Ask before you eat or go to the bathroom
Food can complicate certain tests. And if they need a urine sample, it's better to collect it when your bladder is full than to wait an hour to pee again.
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