re: Taken to the ER, get cleared, and have to go back to the ER because they got it wrong

LOL at the guy who said this doesn’t raise healthcare costs (not you ell)

This is 110% why healthcare costs so much

I’d bet 10 to 1 this person’s treatment/prognosis won’t be significantly different or life changing. May get a fancier brace and pat on the back at the ortho to make them feel good

So let’s review, we now have a second ED visit, CT head, CT chest, CT abdomen, blood work, urine studies... and at the end of the day no significant improvement in outcome

All because Joe Blow needs to know right now if they have to miss 2 weeks training for their weekend warrior triathlon so they don’t miss the opportunity to post it on Facebook.

quote:

---

All because Joe Blow needs to know right now if they have to miss 2 weeks training for their weekend warrior triathlon so they don’t miss the opportunity to post it on Facebook.

---

Are you saying knowing you have a broken bone or not isn’t significant? And this person doesn’t share much if at all on Facebook. Half Ironman distances: 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 run. Not exactly “weekend warrior”.

This isn’t meant to be the point of the thread. But the OT just can’t help itself I suppose.

The role of the ED is to tell you that you aren’t going to die and treat an emergency, not tell you wether or not you can train for your triathalon the next 2 weeks.

In Canada you get your diagnosis and you will like it.

You don’t get CT scans and same day ortho visits because you are concerned about your triathlon training and might sue.

So the American people just need to decide do they want to get what they want when they want it, or do they want the state to decide and pay less premiums. It’s pretty simple, but you aren’t getting what this person got in Canada.

quote:

---

This isn’t meant to be the point of the thread. But the OT just can’t help itself I suppose

---

To be fair you are the one that brought it up when it has absolutely nothing to do with your intention of the OP.

I am by no means a doctor, but it was a clavical. I would have no issue as a patient as an ER not sending weekend non life threatening issues like a wrist, clavical, etc. to the radiologist until Monday. Let the weekend Radiologists deal with the more serious issues.

Therefore the weekend ER doc without back up from a radiologist may very well have missed some minor fractures when it knowingly wasn't life threatening and had a back up coming on Monday.

Additionally, as said the second ER doctor knowingly looked harder and ran additional tests because the patient had additional symptoms. Who is to say if you swapped the doctors circumstances, they would not of had the same conclusions?

quote:

---

You don’t get CT scans and same day ortho visits because you are concerned about your triathlon training and might sue.

---

You keep creating strawmans and exaggerating my points. The result, regardless of what it is, isn’t the issue itself. It’s the second trip which felt necessary even after the first Doc reassured multiple times that the shoulder was fine. Once that was wrong and the other continuing symptoms, the need for further tests seemed prudent. No one wants to go back to an ER for the same reason.

Sometimes fractures do not show up I immediately, so if there was a day or 3 thy passed when they went to the different ER. The fracture could have then showed up.

That is interesting.

quote:

---

Like I said, you want every answer RIGHT NOW. you want to know if you can train for your triathlon. That’s not the role of the ED

---

No. The patient wants to know the extent of the injury when it’s first treated. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable expectation, even for an ED. Is there an emotional side to the impacts of the time out? Yes. And I admit I have bias with regard to that.

Ortho wasn’t suggested until the second visit.

Gotcha. You made it seem like the one who wasn’t certain (or shouldn’t have been) would make that suggestion. But he didn’t.

It was a frustrating day. And I shouldn’t have started the thread. They left the first ER fairly positive because the Doc seemed confident in that nothing was broken. After the first round of meds and some time, that result was questioned. It was a small-town ER. The nurse there was called and asked if the radiologist had had a chance to check the scan. That’s when they found out that it wouldn’t be looked at until today. The fear was that if the fracture was missed, something else could be wrong too. Maybe that was an overreaction. But it was a major crash and precaution seemed prudent given the circumstances.

As far as payment, it seems the insurance company won’t miss that the same person went to the ER twice in a day. They will want answers regarding that.